Independent MP Marija Selak-Raspudic officially confirmed her candidacy for the presidency on Monday, saying that, as a non-partisan person, she will be the president of all citizens.

“The passivity of all parliamentary parties in putting forth a challenger to the current president has created an unhealthy political atmosphere of unjustified fear of confrontation with Zoran Milanovic, essentially surrendering before the race even begins, and this in a situation where all polls show that two-thirds of our citizens want (a new president). I don’t agree to prolonging this atmosphere of apathy and despair,” Selak-Raspudic wrote on Facebook.

With Milanovic, she said, “Croatia has not had a president with character, but… a president whose current mood governed the political life of Croatia.”

In times of crisis, she said, Croatia needs a president who is first and foremost prudent and responsible, who will not calculate and sit on the fence, who will be guided by the interests of the country and not by party or personal benefits, who will solve crises and not create them through their actions. “‘My little Croatia, so rarely joyful,’ are the words of a poet… which I hold onto in an attempt to make things different.”

Elections don’t just mean choosing within a predetermined political offer, but also fighting so that citizens truly have a choice, Selak-Raspudic said. “This means engaging and exposing oneself, which is exactly what I’m doing, relying on the belief that the majority of our citizens are fed up with the current situation, yearning for genuine change, and ready to elect a president who will work with new energy for the benefit of our Homeland.”

She called for the support of all political parties and individuals who, she said, feel the time has come for a non-partisan person to finally lead the country as the president of all citizens.

The creation and defence of an independent Croatia was a great achievement of our parents’ generation, and it is up to us to create a better, fairer, and happier Croatia that will justify all the sacrifices made for it, Selak-Raspudic said, adding that she is committed to this goal and ready to fight for it.