Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that he was confident that his HDZ party would win the parliamentary election on 17 April. Croats are serious and can distinguish between those they can trust and those who have not achieved results in politics, he said.

“We are doing our job, and everything else concerning the parliamentary election will be handled by the State Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court. We have our platform, our achievements, values and visions for Croatia until 2028 and that is what we are focussing on,” Plenkovic said in Zagreb.

On Monday, the Constitutional Court ruled that President Zoran Milanovic may not participate in the political activities of a political party during his term of office. Last week, Milanovic declared that he would be the candidate of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the office of prime minister, but ruled out his resignation as head of state during the election campaign.

The parliamentary election will be conducted in accordance with the Constitution

After the President of the Constitutional Court, Miroslav Separovic, stated that the State Electoral Commission (DIP) was responsible for conducting the election and that he hoped it would fulfil its task as before, the DIP declared that it would ensure, within its powers, that the parliamentary election would be conducted in accordance with the Constitution, the laws and its binding instructions, while heeding the warning of the Constitutional Court.

“The DIP cannot announce its future concrete decisions in the election process and they will depend on the behaviour of the election participants in each individual case,” the DIP said in response to media enquiries on how it will act in relation to the possible candidacy of President Milanovic in the parliamentary election.

When asked by the press whether he perceives Milanovic as his main rival in the election, Plenkovic said today that he does not perceive him at all.

“What the SDP party has done is a tragedy for them. What they do is their business. They are irrelevant to us,” Plenkovic said.

Cooperation after the election

When asked about possible cooperation with several parties that have since left the SDP-led coalition, Plenkovic replied that the HDZ pursues a centre-right policy and brings together all prudent and constructive political parties that share the same values.

“We have achieved many results and they can see that. All those who are not narrow-minded and want to join us can be our potential partners if they show interest in any respect,” he said, adding that the Domovinski pokret (DP) party is not among this circle of potential partners.

The DP had its chance four years ago and you can see what it has done, he said.

Plenkovic declined to speculate on whether the election could be cancelled in the event of non-compliance with the Constitutional Court’s decisions on the election process.

He said he did not want to prejudge the outcome.

He urged Croats to put their trust in the HDZ, adding that he was sure they could tell the difference between the politicians who make crucial decisions and those who sit on the benches during the Prime Minister’s annual report at the end of October.

On that occasion, they revealed their course, which included chaos, aggression, rudeness and coarse language introduced by Zoran Milanovic, the Prime Minister said, wondering who wants Croatia to return to the level it was at during the SDP-led government from 2011 to 2015.