ZAGREB, April 8, 2018 – Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that he expected the party’s political secretary to be the party leader and secretary-general’s first associate and to do that job in line with the HDZ’s policies, as the position of a party official was one of a team player.
Plenković was approached by reporters during a break in a conference of the HDZ’s Association of Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and they asked him if he had talked to HDZ political secretary Davor Ivo Stier regarding Stier’s latest statements, noting that Stier had accused him of blackmail.
Stier, who wants members of parliament to be able to vote on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention in line with their conscience, has said that he will vote against the ratification of the Council of Europe document.
The Večernji List daily has reported that Plenković told Stier at a session of the party leadership on Friday that, if he did so, he would no longer be able to stay in the position of the HDZ’s political secretary.
Commenting on remarks that he was a clericalist, Stier told reporters before the session of the HDZ leadership that the biggest anti-clericalists were believers who tried to follow Christ’s teachings, while the biggest clericalists among politicians were occasional church-goers who went to church to be applauded there. He also alluded that some high-ranking politicians know about hidden scandals in the Church and use that knowledge to influence church officials.
Asked by reporters to comment on Stier’s statement, Plenković said that Stier should explain it and that, if he had anyone specific in mind, he should say who it was. Responding to a reporter’s remark that Stier had accused him of blackmail, Plenković said that that was not true.
“If he had in mind anyone in the party, he must say who he was referring to. I dismiss allusions and orchestrated comments by some media outlets. That’s not true, that’s not my nor my government’s style nor the style of the HDZ the way I see it, quite the contrary,” he said.
Plenković went on to say that he expected the political secretary to be the party’ leader and secretary-general’s first associate. “Stier has stayed in that position and he is expected to do that job in line with the HDZ’s policies. None of us holds a party position as a separate individual, we are all members of a broader team. That was my message to members of the HDZ presidency, that is what we will tell the party group in the parliament, and the government ministers understood that very well, too,” said Plenković.
“The Istanbul Convention… is about better protection of women against domestic violence, while the interpretive statement serves to address ideological and worldview issues. The interpretive statement recognizes and understands… the fears of a certain part of the Croatian electorate and that is why it was written, as a kind of guide to state institutions regarding the implementation of the convention at the national level,” said Plenković.
As for voting in line with one’s conscience, Plenković said: “To vote or not to vote in line with one’s conscience, does that mean that there are HDZ MPs with a little more conscience than other HDZ MPs?”
The ratification of the Istanbul Convention is part of the HDZ’s election platform and the government’s pro-western orientation, and there is no changing of the course, the PM stressed.
Asked about a letter by Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanić in which he noted that one should not hasten the ratification of the convention, Plenković said the government was conducting dialogue with the Croatian Bishops’ Conference and the Zagreb Archdiocese as well as other important stakeholders in the Catholic Church in Croatia.
“I believe that we have done our best to explain the substance of the document… There will be a debate on the document, the convention will be ratified and with its implementation we will show all those who have concerns that they should have trust in the elected government,” said Plenković.
