The Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU) does not support the protest "Against Poverty, Corruption and Crime", which the "Pensioners Together" Bloc (BUZ) bloc plans to organise on Friday, the head of HSU Zagreb branch, Domagoj Siviric, said on Thursday, adding that the problems should be solved in the government and parliament.

“The BUZ and its president Milivoj Spika are organising the protest under the slogan of improving conditions for pensioners, but the HSU cannot believe in it because Spika supported President Zoran Milanovic, who has no authority in this area,” Siviric said.

“Everyone who knows how the system works knows that the president has no authority to clarify the status of Croatian pensioners because his constitutional powers do not allow it,” Siviric said.

“We would be protesting against ourselves”

He claimed that Milanovic never thought about making life easier for pensioners during his term in office.

Siviric said the protest scheduled for Friday would serve only one purpose – Milanovic’s promotion and his campaign for a second term.

“As the Croatian Party of Pensioners, we support our candidate for president, Dragan Primorac,” Siviric said.

He added that the HSU cannot support the protest because it is part of the ruling coalition: “We are a parliamentary party, and if we were to call on our members to join the protest, we would be protesting against ourselves. That would be absurd.”

“As a parliamentary party that has its secretary in the ministry responsible for these issues, we know how to help our pensioners,” Siviric concluded.