Croatia needs a new government by September, only in that way will we have democratic legitimacy, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said in an interview with the Jutarnji List daily of Saturday.

Jandrokovic said that a grand coalition between his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the largest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) was out of the question. “It is true that not even Covid-19 can join us together. We need to maintain social distance towards some of them.”

He said that it was essential to get a government and parliament with a renewed democratic legitimacy. “Everyone who rightfully says that the country is facing difficult choices must be aware that the term of this government and this parliamentary majority is at an end.”

Although he is the secretary-general of the ruling party, he would not explicitly say when parliament would be dissolved and elections called, insisting that the HDZ had not yet made that decision and that it would depend on the epidemiological situation.

“Obviously elections will be held in July if the situation with the epidemic does not deteriorate significantly over the next ten days,” Jandrokovic said, declining to discuss the HDZ’s election slates.