On Wednesday evening, the presidency of the Social Democratic Party finalised its agreement with the coalition partners for the election and the list positions. Party leader Pedja Grbin declared on Thursday that the coalition will be called Rivers of Justice and that this election is for the freedom of Croatia.

“Our coalition will be called Rivers of Justice and the rivers of justice will come in the spring, on 17 April, and Croatia will be better after that day,” Grbin said at a press conference after the meeting of the party’s presidency on Wednesday.

We have determined list positions with the coalition partners in all constituencies, without mentioning names, which will be discussed at the party’s main committee on Monday, Grbin said. He pointed out that the coalition agreement will be initialled before the election, after the partners announce that their party committees have made the relevant decisions, and it is expected that this could happen as early as Friday.

The meeting was honest and open, good and bad things were pointed out, but the decision was made with a large majority, he said.

“The SDP party is on the road to victory, the Rivers of Justice coalition is on the road to victory and Z… I can not pronounce his name, is on the road to victory,” Grbin added, calling on the citizens of the cities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and Varazdin to join the opposition protests on Saturday at 11am.

Call to citizens to join the protests on Saturday

“I call on citizens to join us and say that they are fed up with the lies, corruption and the HDZ and to participate in the election, because without them there are no rivers of justice. I also invite them and all citizens to participate in the election. “Croatia must become better for the individuals and not for numerous others who have exploited it, and I hope that they will be held accountable for this,” he demanded.

When asked whether the SDP was too generous to its partners because they could get seven to eight seats in parliament while they could not do it alone, Grbin said: “Some may say that it is too much, others that it is not enough, the truth is in the eye of the beholder.”

Regarding President Zoran Milanovic and his participation in the election campaign, Grbin said that he has not been allowed to participate since last Monday and that the SDP is a party that respects the constitution and leads by example, that Croatia cannot get better if its institutions are destroyed.

“With this example, we are showing how determined and ready we are for what will come after 17 April. We will win and the victory will be even sweeter for the citizens because they will see what the HDZ beast is willing to do just to stay in power. This is crucial for Croatia and I want everyone to realise that this is the most important election since 2000, because it is an election for the freedom of Croatia,” Grbin said.

The negotiations with the Mozemo party will take place in a few days

He wished those who left the coalition good luck in the parliamentary election and stated that talks with the Mozemo party on a coalition in constituencies 4, 5, 7 and 9 will take place in a few days.

Referring to the dissenting opinion of three constitutional judges regarding a warning to President Milanovic and the SDP, Grbin assessed that “there are still sane people in Croatia and not all of them have gone crazy. There are people who know how to read the constitution, laws and international charters.”

He also referred to a statement by Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, who described the opposition coalition as “streams” and not rivers. “He is a candidate in the election. He will head the list in constituency 6 and has gathered police officers around him to campaign. This man is duplicitous and is doing what he should not be doing, but I have not seen the DIP (State Electoral Commission) or the Constitutional Court jumping up to stop him. As for the stream, it flows into a river.”

Grbin said that the party bodies have not discussed whether Milanovic will run for election to the European Parliament, that the law and the Constitution do not prevent him from doing so, and whether Milanovic can resign as president at the last moment, just before the SDP submits its lists of candidates to the State Electoral Commission.

Milanovic “is putting together a government of national salvation”

In the meantime, President Zoran Milanovic said that he “is neither in a party, nor will he ever be again” and that he is “putting together a coalition for a third republic and that is a government of national salvation”

The HDZ must be democratically removed from power, he told the press in Pula on Thursday. “And whoever comes (next) will be better. There must be a transition period so this the damage can be repaired.”

“I am surprised at all those who did not see a problem in the way Croatia got the (new) State Attorney-General. Either they don’t understand it or it’s even worse,” he said.