SDP president comments on elections for HDZ president.
A candidate for HDZ president Andrej Plenković belongs more to a liberal wing of SDP than to HDZ, said SDP president Zoran Milanović on Friday, but added that it was up to HDZ to choose its president, reports tportal.hr on June 24, 2016.
“I wish to HDZ to elect their new president in a democratic manner. They instituted the ‘one member one vote’ principle, which we first introduced, and I consider it to be a personal contribution to Croatian democracy, and democracy is always unpredictable, as we have just seen in Great Britain”, said Milanović and added that he personally knew some of the candidates for HDZ president.
“I have known Andrej Plenković for years and frankly, from what I know, he belongs more to the liberal wing of SDP. I do not know what he is doing in HDZ, but that is their business”, said Milanović talking about the member of European Parliament who is considered to be a favourite to become the new HDZ president. Commenting on the statement by HDZ deputy president Milijan Brkić that HDZ would prevent “the return of SDP’s tyranny”, he said, “so far, I have survived three HDZ presidents in these nine years. I did not make them leave, but they came and went. My ambition is to lead SDP for some time. There was no tyranny, nor will there ever be. I have never accused HDZ of tyranny, but I have accused them of incompetence.” Milanović said that whoever becomes the new HDZ president will have a difficult job to work together with a team of people that was selected by Tomislav Karamarko, especially if they want to turn HDZ into a modern centre-right party.
“We are going to offer a new people’s government which had led Croatia to the path of growth, and Croatia is growing now. These last six months have been an ugly interlude. Let us go to work and towards new victories”, said Milanović and added that SDP would bring together a coalition similar to the one at the last years’ elections, with a possible enlargement.
“It will be a progressive, people’s coalition for people’s government, and not tyranny. They have inflicted a lot of damage, but there is time to get it all together and for Croatia to be stronger in the future.”
