The results Croatia is achieving under the HDZ party's leadership will raise living standards above 75 percent of the EU average in seven to eight years and families will have to think about whether it pays to emigrate, Prime Minister and party leader Andrej Plenkovic said in the central Croatian town of Karlovac on Monday.

He was speaking at an event marking the 33rd anniversary of the party’s Karlovac city and county branches.

“We are saying this from the position of a government which has brought Croatia among the 15 most developed countries,” Plenkovic said, adding that there are still many tasks ahead, but that other parties and a huge part of the opposition do not have this feeling of satisfaction with the success achieved in realising all big, essential and strategic projects in the country.

Most opposition actors are not identified with Croatian identity processes and therein lies the HDZ’s strength, he said.

Plenkovic called on the party officials and members to use every opportunity in the next 18 months, until the parliamentary election, to point to the successes achieved in order to further strengthen citizens’ trust in the HDZ which, he said, is leading Croatia towards prosperity.

Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said only the HDZ could have pursued a policy which swiftly and effectively responded to the overlapping challenges of COVID-19, the 2020 earthquakes, the energy and food crisis, and the inflationary pressures caused by the Russian aggression.

“Let’s not fall for constant attacks which portray things in Croatia in the worst possible way. Let’s be objective and portray the successes without fear until the election, constantly. We must be ready for the political fight ahead,” he said.