The achievements of the government, which the Prime Minister emphasised in his State of the Nation report on Tuesday, did not impress the opposition in parliament. They criticised his leadership and the work of the government, while the ruling HDZ and its partners were satisfied.

Sinisa Hajdas-Doncic (SDP party) said that what Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic presented in his reports was far from reality and described him as a skilful manipulator who creates the illusion of doing something, but in reality is harmful and useless to the country and its citizens.

Ten per cent of the powerful control most of the wealth, which makes it dangerous to grow older in Croatia, where for many retirement equals poverty, he said.

Grmoja: More Croatians emigrate than ever before

Hajdas-Doncic also commented on wages, telling citizens that the government was taking more money from them through taxes and fees than it was giving back. “What they give you are crumbs, while the big money is stolen through corruption scandals.”

He warned against falling for the government’s “fine words” and said that the positive picture Plenkovic paints is crumbling in comparison to neighbouring countries.

Nikola Grmoja (Most party) accused the Prime Minister of selectively presenting figures that suit him.

Allegedly, life in Croatia has never been as good as it is today, yet more Croats than ever are emigrating, he said, pointing out that food prices will rise by 37% between 2020 and 2023, with the cost of bread and eggs increasing by 57%.

Grmoja also criticised Plenkovic for focusing on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s stance on Ukraine during the recent summit in Dubrovnik, instead of addressing Vucic’s position on Greater Serbia’s aggression against Croatia.

Marijana Puljak (Centre) said that the government was not moving Croatia forward and questioned whether the country was making progress under HDZ rule or sinking deeper into nepotism, incompetence and corruption. She also criticised the HDZ’s coalition with the Domovinski pokret party, which she said had betrayed its voters.

Milos: GDP and credit ratings do not reflect the reality of life in Croatia

Independent MP Marija Selak-Raspudic said that the government was trying to solve long-standing problems with temporary solutions and lacked strategic planning. She also pointed out the effects of inflation, rising food and service prices and skyrocketing housing costs.

In her opinion, the Prime Minister and the President are exposing Croatia to international embarrassment by portraying it as an unreliable country.

Jelena Milos (Mozemo party) pointed out the increasing social injustices and inequalities and noted that although GDP and credit ratings have increased, these indicators do not reflect the reality of life in Croatia.

She said that the poverty rate among older people has risen from 26% to 34% in the last eight years and that 41% of people cannot cover an unexpected expense of 450 euros, while 10% of the richest own half of the wealth. She criticised the state for not doing enough during the inflation crisis to take more from those who have the most and give more to those who have the least.

Oreskovic: The rule of the HDZ is based on lies and manipulation

Dalibor Paus (IDS party) expressed his disappointment that the Prime Minister’s report was showered with praise but did not mention the rising cost of living. People are not interested in the conflict between the President and the Prime Minister, but in how they can survive, he remarked.

Dalija Oreskovic (DOSIP party) accused the HDZ of undermining Croatia from within and called them hypocrites pretending to be patriots. “The rule of the HDZ is based on lies and manipulation”

In contrast, members of the HDZ and its coalition partners praised the work of the government. Ante Sanader (HDZ) and Armin Hodzic (Club of National Minorities) praised the positive economic development, wage growth, pension increases and rising employment.

Hodzic also pointed out the concerns within the Bosniak minority and said that many Bosniaks did not have the right to vote in the minority constituency due to bureaucratic problems.

Sanader said the opposition “could not accept the government’s successes” or the results of the elections out of envy and was reducing the debate to “hatred, shouting and lies.”