Controversial politician causes turmoil once again.
Ladislav Ilčić, currently an advisor to the Minister of Culture and president of HRAST, a conservative party which is a member of the ruling coalition, recently gave a lecture to students on the issue of the Istanbul Convention against violence against women. In his presentation, he discussed the issue of menstruation and female hormones, reports N1 on January 27, 2018.
“Women, during the first part of the cycle, when estrogen is dominant, have better moods, but for those couple of days before menstruation, they are taken over a bit by testosterone, then they are… I will not go into the topic now. Hormones affect mood and feelings. The male and female brain think differently and perceive things differently. Sex change is actually impossible,” said Ilčić, a conservative politician who is known for his controversial positions.
His statement provoked numerous reactions. Some of the opposition parties have already demanded that Ilčić should be dismissed as an advisor to the Minister of Culture, where he covers the issues of the cooperation with trade unions, labor rights and the status of artists.
Ines Stinja Linić (MOST) believes that Ilčić has a problem with his own sexuality. “For a long time, we have not had a politician with such sexist statements,” she said. Speaking about Ilčić, she continued: “This is deeply embarrassing and shows that colleague Ilčić has problems with his sexuality. He also has a problem with gender equality, since he does not consider women to be equal. He has an obvious problem, but there is also a problem for both the Culture Minister and the Prime Minister. He obviously cannot be an advisor, and he simply needs to be removed from political life because he is harming all of us, as well as his party.”
SDP president Davor Bernardić agreed with Strenja Linić. “When you say that about women, you actually say that women are inferior beings. These are coalition partners of the government. Every day there is a new affair, every day a new scandal,” said Bernardić.
However, the resignation or dismissal is highly unlikely, given that both the Prime Minister and the Culture Minister do not appear to be particularly concerned. “Ilčić was speaking as president of the HRAST party, and not as an advisor. He is dealing with other issues in the ministry,” said Culture Minister Obuljen Koržinek on Friday.
Ilčić has so far caused several scandals, including the one when he alluded that an HDZ candidate at local elections was a closeted homosexual. At the time, he was an advisor to the Foreign Minister but left the post.
