ZAGREB, April 7, 2018 – Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said on Friday that the selection of the head of the Expert Task Force to implement the curricular reform was not a topic over which to outvote one another, but that rather a solution should be sought that would enable the continuation of the education reform.
“My view is that this is not a topic over which we should outvote one another, we should be looking for a solution that will make it possible to continue the education reform,” Plenković said after a session of the HDZ Presidency when asked by reporters if he had given up on Matko Glunčić as a candidate for the head of the Expert Task Force.
The HDZ’s coalition partner, the Croatian People’s Party (HNS), and Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak, are against Glunčić’s appointment. Asked if Divjak had acted tactlessly when she recently said that a person who had applied for a public office (Glunčić) was unacceptable, Plenković said that the question should be put to the minister. “I don’t think it’s good to comment on any of the candidates while the (selection) procedure is under way. That is clear to anyone who follows a process like this one,” he said.
He stressed that his approach as prime minister, regarding the topic of education, which had elicited many disputes in the past few years, was inclusive and that he wanted a consensus to be reached so that the best possible curricula and teaching plans and programmes were made.
Plenković recalled that six candidates had applied for the position of the head of the Expert Task Force and were interviewed, “unlike in some earlier situations, when a single candidate would apply”. Also, a panel of people who “think with their own heads” have analysed who could be the best candidate for the post, said Plenković.
As for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, Plenković said that the HDZ had taken a clear stand on the matter, and as to whether there would be HDZ MPs with a different position, he said that this would be known after a session of the HDZ party group in the parliament on Tuesday. He also said there would be no sanctions for MPs who would decide to vote contrary to the decision of the party’s bodies, stressing that the HDZ was a democratic party.
