The party leader of the Domovinski pokret (DP), Ivan Penava, called on his party colleague Stephen Nikola Bartulica to publicly apologise for driving a Ferrari with people with a criminal past. He claimed that he had crossed the line and that the entire DP was "sick to the stomach" as a result.

He referred to the night after the European elections when Bartulica said in a speech to the crowd that he would be “the voice of ordinary people” and “continue to speak for Croatian children who are under threat, for Croatian families who are under threat” and he arrived at the party headquarters in a Ferrari worth 348,000 euros.

The media then found out that the driver of the car in question was Ivko Maric, a criminal with multiple convictions, including for attempted murder.

“I demand a public apology from Bartulica for driving a Ferrari with people from the criminal milieu. We, the Domovinski pokret party, distance ourselves clearly and unequivocally from this. As a responsible person and as a Christian, I expect a clear answer from him that this is not what he stands for and that he has made a mistake,” said Penava at a press conference in parliament.

A “very dangerous” act

“The whole DP’s stomach is turning that we have to answer these questions. This is something that the DP is not, cannot be and must not be. I still expect Bartulica to appear before you, explain himself and apologise for this latest information,” Penava said in a message to his party colleague.

The Ferrari may have been a nice story, but I was not aware of the details of the criminal record of the person who arrived with it, Penava said, adding that Bartulica also seemed lost to him. However, as a responsible man and politician who received a considerable number of votes in the European Parliament elections thanks to the DP, it was up to him to come forward and answer some questions, Penava emphasised.

“This is a very dangerous act. The line has been crossed and I expect a step back, otherwise I will have to take action as party leader to prevent people in an organised party from crossing that line. Anyone who does something like this must realise that they will have to look elsewhere for a perspective,” warned Penava, noting that the party has a united stance on the matter and is shocked by the whole incident and the background that has come to light.

Bartulica has not contacted anyone from the party leadership in the last two days

Bartulica was supposed to make a public appearance, but he has not contacted anyone in the party in the last two days, Penava added. I understand that he is under stress because of everything, but time is running out, Penava said and urged Bartulica to be accountable to the DP, but also to make people realise that the seat in the EP belongs to the party and that it was not Bartulica who got it, but the DP.

Mistakes happen to everyone and I accept that from the human side, but you have to apologise for it and there is a way to go public and defend this situation, Penava believes.

The Ferrari stunt was a stupid, stupid move, but that is the line and the time to clear the air is ticking, Penava said.

“Bartulica is a highly educated man, he was educated abroad, and how could we have known that the people accompanying the candidate we were sending to the EU would have a criminal background? I think this was a gross mistake. I expect him to face the public, otherwise I will assume that they are part of his team and therefore he does not belong in the DP,” Penava emphasised.

The DP will take a step back to ensure the stable functioning of the majority

He also referred to the meeting of the ruling coalition on Tuesday and announced that the DP will make a kind of step back towards Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the HDZ party, but also towards all other coalition partners, as a promise for the stable functioning of the majority. He said that minority MPs should determine who will head the Committee on Human and National Minority Rights, although they do not share this stance.

“We have made a compromise and we will see who it will be. If it is someone who is not a member of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), that is acceptable to the DP. If it is a member of the SDSS who represents a political party, the DP and our MPs will be against it,” he said.

He explained that they have nothing against any minority, but they have a lot to do to protect the values of the Homeland War and the protection of human rights. This includes a museum that will deal with totalitarian regimes, treating fascism, communism and Nazism equally. Another topic is the amendment of the Cemeteries Act to remove Chetnik monuments from the territory of the Republic of Croatia, Penava announced.