President criticises PM for alarming public over threats against him

"The prime minister has been alarming the Croatian public for the second day in a row about threats being made against him. He is not the only person being threatened, but he is the only one making a media show of it, apparently following the example of our eastern neighbour," Milanović wrote on Facebook, alluding to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

He called on Plenkovic to "stop harassing the Croatian citizens with stories of his being threatened," adding that the job of leading the government requires "a little more personal courage and confidence in the institutions of the Croatian state."

Milanovic said that the prime minister should let people in charge of security do their job without attracting the media spotlight. "A little measure and taste wouldn't come amiss."

Plenkovic said earlier on Saturday, referring to threats made against him and members of his cabinet, that threats are happening all the time and should never be ignored, and that his political opponents should take more seriously the time in which we live. He dismissed claims that officials should not discuss this because the operation of secret services should stay secret.

MP Nikola Grmoja (Bridge) also said on Saturday that all members of Parliament receive threats in line with their work, but unlike the prime minister, none of them wants to talk about them.

"I am confident that all my fellow MPs receive all sorts of threats. I have received countless of them, but I have never reported them except one that was made against my family. Although the police never informed me of the outcome of that investigation, I don't go whinging about it like the prime minister," Grmoja told reporters after a wreath-laying ceremony for the victims of WWII death marches at Zagreb's Mirogoj Cemetery.