After the government meeting, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic gave a press conference on Friday.

At the beginning, he referred to the arrival of the Rafale. “We will be in a position we have never been in before when it comes to our defence capabilities. They can be fighters and reconnaissance aircraft, they can carry out complex tasks and their service life is at least 40 years.”

He thanked the Ministers of Finance Marko Primorac and Zdravko Maric, all three Ministers of defence, Damir Krsticevic, Mario Banozic and Ivan Anusic, the General Staff and the experts of the Croatian Air Force.

He referred to the negotiations with the Domovinski pokret party: “There is nothing new since yesterday, the meetings will continue next week,” he said.

He reiterated that the opposition had been defeated. “The bottom line is that we have to draw the line that people who have a bunch of affairs can accuse the HDZ in general without batting an eyelid. It’s as if we had Snow White on the other side.”

“They want to enslave the institutions”

He says that the opposition falsely accuses the HDZ of “being “thieves and criminals”.

“We do not accept this thesis, especially not after the election. What is the goal of Zoran Milanovic and his cohorts?” he said.

Journalists tried to ask him about the negotiations with the Domovinski pokret party, but Plenkovic said that he was the one holding a press conference and that there was nothing new, so he continued to name names.

“Let me explain to people what I think is important, because false accusations have become the norm in the media and now we will eliminate them,” he said.

“The corrupt SDP, Most… Malice, rudeness… (Nikola) Grmoja, Milanovic and those who support him do not want a programme, higher salaries, they want to enslave the institutions. They want to influence their work,” he said, adding that Milanovic’s goal is to enslave the State Attorney’s Office (DORH).

“From now on, we will constantly repeat… Mozemo party? How are people employed in Holding company, Sandra Bencic is going there… These are the issues. Most party is corrupted with media and false slander, Milanovic is completely decapitated by the Kovacevic case. Merzel convicted. A number of other cases,” Plenkovic continued, adding that the opposition has an “agenda of enslaving the institutions of persecution”.

“People with a bunch of their own affairs”

“They do not respond to the violation of the Constitution, they do not listen to the Constitutional Court, but insult the judges. In an election campaign that was on the verge of legality, they suffered a resounding defeat and the people said no to them. In the post-election phase, they have nothing new to offer. What would a normal politician say? Pedja Grbin, separate housing allowance. They have a bunch of their own affairs, but they tell the public that the HDZ is problematic,” he claimed, adding that the HDZ is fighting corruption and that the institutions are free.

“What did Milanovic say about Dalija Oreskovic? She was placed at the head of the Conflict of the The Commission by Milanovic through influence peddling. He admitted it himself. And now such a person who accuses Ivica Puljak and his people, who are the leading duo of this terrible thesis ‘HDZ or Croatia’, Maja Djerek went to them there, and she accused them of corruption. Where do they get the right to repeat theses that can easily be turned against them. That’s the point,” Plenkovic said.

He did not want to talk about the negotiations and explained that what he is talking about is much more important, as he says, the corrupt opposition.

“If the Domovinski pokret goes with the losers, then they are part of the so-called anti-corruption coalition, and if they go with the HDZ, then they are the blackest right-wingers. Do you understand the hypocrisy? A lie,” said Plenkovic.

“Milanovic no longer exists as President of the Republic”

He once again labelled the left-wing opposition hypocritical and mendacious and said that they had suffered a heavy defeat.

He referred to the opposition’s thesis of 30 ministers who have left his government. “We have two and a half cases that have something to do with the alleged commission of a criminal offence during their time as ministers,” he said, adding that the opposition’s thesis of 30 ministers was false.

“If I paid attention to who said what to whom in the political arena, I would not be able to work with anyone,” he added.

“Zoran Milanovic as President of the Republic no longer exists. When you come to the meeting of the party’s main committee, you no longer exist as president. He knows that, all constitutional law experts know that. After this serious defeat, he should also resign,” said Plenkovic.

When asked if he could see himself in Brussels, he replied: “I want the HDZ to win the European elections convincingly. I saw someone on television who has been sitting there for five years and I only registered him then. Giving trust to someone who works against Croatian interests, who has not spoken out for five years and is now asking for trust again is called fallacy. I have the impression that the Croatian people are wise and intelligent”.

When asked whether he will remain prime minister, he replied: “Certainly.”