The Free Together initiative on Saturday organised a protest outside the head office of the ruling HDZ party in Zagreb, demanding the government's resignation and an early election, with some of the protesters also expressing opposition to the introduction of the euro, gender ideology and the WHO.

The protest was held in the wake of a major gas trading scam in INA, with its organisers saying that the government “should be fired” over that and many other corruption scandals.

However, the INA affair was barely mentioned at the rally outside the HDZ offices, with the protesters expressing their dissatisfaction with the introduction of the euro in early 2023, the alleged introduction of ‘gender ideology’ in primary and secondary schools, and ‘the artificially created’ energy crisis, demanding that Croatia leave the World Health Organisation.

Zeljka Becic, an activist from Zadar, said that just like other EU members, Croatia had lost its political sovereignty due to the Treaty of Lisbon and that it would also lose its monetary sovereignty by introducing the euro.

“Euro introduction will be followed by the introduction of a digital euro, and then you will have to kiss all the freedoms you know goodbye. The Hrelic flea market in Zagreb and the cattle fair in Benkovac will disappear, as will many other things that are part of the tradition of the Croatian people,” she said, to which the protesters shouted, “We won’t give up the kuna”.

The protesters also resented the way the government had managed the COVID-19 crisis, during which, they said, it had denied them the right to work, freedom of movement, and many other freedoms by introducing COVID passes, online classes and the mask-wearing mandate and by closing down businesses.

“The majority owners of the WHO are banks and pharmaceutical companies that have made money on the COVID crisis and turned that organisation into their private firm. We are here announcing a campaign to have Croatia leave the WHO,” said gynaecologist Marija Divic.

Predrag Livak of the “Prosvjetitelj” trade union criticised the government over online classes, which, he said, had denied students social contact with their peers and would make teachers jobless because, he claims, they will be replaced by robots and AI.

“The agenda of transhumanism is to replace and digitalise real people, those in power consider AI more capable, cheaper and superior to them,” he said, warning those attending the rally of certain “harmful ideas” slowly entering school curricula, “sexualising children”.

“We condemn open or subtle gender ideology propaganda in schools. Children abroad are taught that sex is a fluid category, contrary to all biological and medical facts,” Livak said, to which the protesters shouted, “We are keeping our children safe.”

Andrija Klarić, one of the protest organisers, said that “people are fed up with the censorship of scientists, journalists paid by the scientific community and so-called fact-checkers.”

In a somewhat paradoxical conclusion of the rally, the protesters chanted “God save Croatia”, a song used by the HDZ, against which they staged the rally, as its anthem.