A swastika and the letter U, referring to the Nazi-allied Ustasha regime that ruled Croatia during the Second World War, were painted on the front door of MP Hrvoje Zekanovic's home in the coastal city of Sibenik on Saturday morning. Police are investigating.

The graffiti appeared between 9.15 and 9.30 am.

“When I returned from the shop, the paint was still dripping,” Zekanovic said in front of his home, accompanied by two police officers.

“This is my family home where I live with my wife, three daughters and mother. This is definitely an attack on an elected member of the Croatian parliament, which is a serious precedent. I actually don’t know if there have been such cases in the 30 years of the independent Croatia, where an MP is threatened this way and his property is damaged,” said Zekanovic, the sole MP for the rightwing opposition HRAST party.

He said that his 80-year-old mother became sick when she saw the graffiti.

“She has been living here her whole life. This is a very bad precedent for Sibenik and for Croatia. I wonder if there will be any reaction from those who stood in defence of (Independent Democratic Serb Party MP) Milorad Pupovac after he was hit with a lemon. I wonder if this story will be forgotten like the swastika on the pitch of Poljud Stadium,” Zekanovic said.