The current government and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) are not pursuing a policy of divisions and exclusions, and their policy is that of inclusion and mutual tolerance, which is in the interest of the whole state, Parliament Speaker and HDZ Secretary-General Gordan Jandrokovic told N1 on Sunday.

“All of us active on the political and public scene should be guided, first of all, by our conscience and the interests of the Republic of Croatia. I think that we must be responsible,” Jandrokovic said in his interview with the N1, which focused on the relations among members of the ruling coalition following recent statements by Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS).

Pupovac’s comments have stirred up many reactions including those from some other members of the coalition who said they are considering leaving it.

“Perhaps we would have scored more political points if we had assumed a tough stance on Pupovac, and we would have received applause from a segment of the right-wing political scenes, however, the questions is whether it would be useful for Croatia. I think that it wouldn’t be,” Jandrokovic said. “Stability has priority over all kinds of polemical discussions that additional fuel the flames in Croatia.”

He underscored that the incumbent government and the HDZ led by Andrej Plenkovic will not spread any divisions in Croatia’s society.

We insist on the fact that there are different ways of thinking, different world views and concepts, and we live with that and should be able to deal with it and, he said, adding that the prevailing course should be inclusion, mutual tolerance and respect.

Jandrokovic dismissed criticism from some right-wing circles that the persons in the government were “weak Croats insufficiently dedicated to the Croatian national interests”.

“We fight for (the national interests) in the manner we consider to be responsible, serious and in the interest of our state,” he said, adding that he hopes that people will eventually recognise those efforts.

He went on to say that the policy of inclusion and respect was also the policy led by the HDZ founder and the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman who always tried to see to it that there were representatives of ethnic minorities, including the Serb minority, in the government and institutions also in times which were much more difficult than the present-day circumstances.

“I can’t see anything bad in having representatives of ethnic minorities, including the Serb ethnic minority within the ruling majority. Of course, those representatives are also supposed to behave responsibly and take care of what they say and what kind of reactions they provoke among Croatian citizens. All that is connected,” he said.