ZAGREB, October 31, 2020 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Saturday that in the first 100 days of its term the government had done what it had promised to do, including the adoption of a law on reconstruction following the March 22 earthquake, and that it was turned to the future and the fourth decade of Croatia’s democracy.
Plenkovic said this in response to questions from reporters covering his visit to Zagreb’s central Mirogoj cemetery, where he laid wreaths on the occasion of All Saints’ Day.
Asked about the government’s first 100 days in office, Plenkovic recalled the fast formation of the parliamentary majority following his HDZ party’s victory in the July 5 election, the inauguration of the parliament, the adoption of a law on the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and parts of Krapina-Zagorje and Zagreb counties, and the government’s strong messages of reconciliation and co-existence.
He said his government was working to calm down what remained turbulent in the Croatian nation with regard to the past but that also wanted to turn to the future and the fourth decade of the country’s democracy.
The PM stressed that he would fight against radicalisation and violent extremism in society and continue with the fight against corruption.
Plenkovic said that the National Security Council would hold a session but not next week due to “lack of room to meet”.
None of us ever talked about curfew
Plenkovic said that no government member had ever spoken about the introduction of a curfew, noting that the current epidemiological measures against coronavirus were proportional to the dynamic of the spreading of the disease.
He recalled that one of the coalition partners (Reformists leader Radimir Cacic) had aspoken about that possibility at a coalition meeting due to similar measures that were being introduced by other countries.
The PM said that the key to fighting the epidemic is individual responsibility.
He would not comment on President Zoran Milanovic’s view that whoever proposed imposing a curfew should be “put away”, saying: “I don’t have time for him.”
Asked why he did not go to Mirogoj yesterday with Milanovic, who had invited him to do so together as such had been the practice in the past several years, Plenkovic said that the government had a usual working day on Friday and that they had planned the visit to Mirogoj for today.
Asked if the government could guarantee timely medical care to all patients not suffering from coronavirus and about the situation at Zagreb’s KB Dubrava hospital, Plenkovic said that “generally, the government can certainly do that (guarantee timely medical care)” and that back in the spring the government had decided that KB Dubrava would be the hospital to help out the city’s Dr Fran Mihaljevic hospital for infectious diseases in caring for coronavirus patients.
“Since during the first wave of the epidemic we had very good results, KB Dubrava did not have to admit a large number of patients. Now the situation is different and they are providing very good care for all patients,” he said, noting that despite the great strain on it, the health system was capable of performing its other tasks as well.
Plenkovic dismissed claims that the government and the coronavirus crisis management team were waiting for All Saints’ Day to pass in order to introduce stricter epidemiological measures.
Answering a reporter’s question, he said that Vukovar Remembrance Day, November 18, would be marked in that eastern city in a dignified way, as always, and expressed satisfaction that the city’s reconstructed Water Tower was inaugurated on Friday, for which the government gave more than HRK 20 million.
Plenkovic also said that Croatia was ready to help Turkey and Greece in removing the consequences of Friday’s disastrous earthquake.
Accompanied by Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek and War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, Plenkovic laid wreaths at Mirogoj’s Wall of Pain monument, the Central Cross in the section for fallen Homeland War soldiers, the grave of Croatia’s first president Franjo Tudjman, the cemetery’s Central Cross and the common grave of unidentified Homeland War victims.
Wreaths were also laid by a parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic.
