Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic on Tuesday rejected reports of internal divisions within the HDZ party in view of the upcoming presidential election.

He was responding to claims that certain factions of the HDZ could support the independent candidate Marija Selak-Raspudic over the official HDZ candidate Dragan Primorac in the first round of the presidential elections in order to undermine party leader Andrej Plenkovic.

“There are no such factions,” Bozinovic said in a comment on an article in the weekly Nacional, which speculated that some HDZ members dissatisfied with Plenkovic’s leadership could sabotage Primorac’s campaign.

On the Banozic case

Bozinovic also spoke about the ongoing court proceedings in connection with a fatal traffic accident involving former Defence Minister Mario Banozic a year ago and clarified that the competent court has not yet ruled on the validity of the charges.

When asked whether he could confirm the lawful behaviour of the police in handling the case, Bozinovic said that based on his eight years of experience as head of the Ministry of the Interior, he was confident that the police had acted strictly in accordance with the law.

The minister also commented on an anti-corruption operation by the Uskok and Lika-Senj police, which involved bribery at vehicle inspection stations and led to the arrest of 16 people.

“There are always situations like this. The police, in cooperation with the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) and the National Police Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (PNUSKOK), conducted a thorough investigation that lasted several months and demonstrated a high level of professionalism,” said Bozinovic.

Procurement of gas masks and possible mounted police unit

Bozinovic also spoke about the recent procurement of 280,000 gas masks worth 31.4 million euros excluding VAT and explained that the purchase is part of an EU-funded project under the European Civil Protection Mechanism.

“This procurement strengthens our emergency reserves and reflects the realities of the world we live in. This EU-funded project has passed the European evaluation and is now moving into the implementation phase,” explained Mr Bozinovic, mentioning other procurement plans to deal with climate-related emergencies.

The Minister also spoke about the possibility of introducing a mounted police unit, a project proposed by the Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Prime Minister Josip Dabro of the Domovinski pokret (DP) party. Bozinovic confirmed initial talks with Dabro and emphasised that he is optimistic about the potential of the project if the necessary logistical and legal requirements are met.

He pointed out that the establishment of a mounted unit requires comprehensive planning, including the accommodation, care and training of the horses, as well as standard operating procedures that define the scope and methods for the deployment of the mounted police.