ZAGREB, May 30, 2019 – Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) leader Boris Miletić said in Pula on Thursday that the result of the May 26 election for the European Parliament had shown once again that Istria was open, tolerant and progressive, that radicalism did not enjoy support in Istria and that Istrians looked to the right only when crossing the street.
Addressing a news conference, Miletić thanked all citizens who went to the polls on Sunday, notably those who supported the Amsterdam Coalition and the IDS, as well as all partners.
He stressed that the Amsterdam Coalition slate had won close to 42% of the vote in Istria.
The IDS won five times more votes in Istria than Živi Zid and seven times more votes than the HDZ, while the lead candidate on Amsterdam Coalition slate, Valter Flego, won 19,038 preferential votes, 16 times more than the Social Democrat candidate from Istria, said Miletić.
“The right has grown stronger in Croatia and a new player with extremely radical views has joined the circle of populist politicians. But that is not so in Istria, we have shown that Istria is a world unto itself and different from the rest of Croatia… that it thinks in an open, tolerant and progressive way… thanks to our citizens we have shown that radicalism does not enjoy support in Istria and that Istrians look to the right only when crossing the street,” Miletić said, adding that this was the first time the IDS had decided to run in elections at the national level and without a big partner, winning, as a coalition leader, one seat in the European Parliament.
The newly elected member of the European Parliament from the Amsterdam Coalition, Valter Flego, who returned on Wednesday from his first official visit to Brussels since he was elected a member of the European Parliament, said that the first item on his agenda as a MEP would be reaching an agreement on priorities in the EU in the next five years and deciding on partners for negotiations, stressing that extremists, radicals and populists were ruled out.
“In the next five years, ALDE will have 108 members, the highest number ever. We have grown considerably and we are the third force in the European Parliament, with excellent growth trends, unlike the first two groups, the European People’s Party and the Socialists, which have lost a large number of deputies compared to the last term,” Flego said, adding that his priorities and areas of interest would be regional development, environmental protection, agriculture, industry, research and innovation, and transport and tourism.
More news about elections can be found in the Politics section.
