First, I would like to once again express my deep and sincere condolences to the Bandić family, his friends, associates and sympathisers. Bandić was elected mayor six times by the people of Zagreb and that speaks for itself, the HDZ mayoral candidate said in the interview which Hina published on Sunday.
As for the campaign, this changes nothing for me, but those who based their campaign exclusively on overthrowing the former mayor, without any programme or content, they are facing a new challenge, Filipović told Hina.
He added that he was offering a new model for managing the capital city.
A transparent and successful reconstruction is the most important priority, and in order to have it, it is important to manage the city’s finances responsibly and transparently, which is a prerequisite for having the money to reconstruct Zagreb. I will insist on transparency so that city finances are managed responsibly, which means spending the same amount of money as earned in revenue, which was not the case so far. I want to tell all fellow citizens that each kuna spent will be visible and available on the internet, he said.
“I will focus all my efforts on the construction of the National Children’s Hospital, for which HRK 22 million has already been secured in non-repayable EU grants. Also, the construction of the Jarun Bridge, which will be 625 m long and 40 m wide, will begin,” Filipović said, mentioning other projects for the improvement of road infrastructure.
Filipović also commented on the fact that many critics from the opposition resented the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) for not opposing the city government on the last budget.
“However, we need to look at the context of that budget. We had COVID-19, an earthquake and a difficult situation in the entire country. Opposing the budget five months before the election would mean causing an additional crisis, (…) halting all projects in the city. In such a situation we supported the budget because we put citizens first. Zagreb does not need a crisis five months before the election.”
We also had a situation related to the general urban plan (GUP) and the “Zagreb Manhattan”, where GUP did not meet the development needs of the city, and experts were not satisfied with it. The HDZ also said “no” then, he recalled.
Asked what were the results of the previous management of the City of Zagreb, he said that they were reflected in the financial devastation of the city budget.
“Also, they are reflected in the public’s perception that regardless of the project there is a smell of corruption and favouritism. That’s what isn’t good at all,” he said.
Together with our fellow citizens, I want to create a city so that we are all proud to live in Zagreb, so that we don’t keep commenting on scandals that have marked the way the city was managed in the past 20 years, Filipović said.
