SDP leader Pedja Grbin said on Saturday that his party was in favour of parliamentary elections taking place as soon as possible, noting that women and men would be equally represented on the party's slates.

Speaking to reporters in Split, where a party rally was held under the slogan “Fight for dignity”, Grbin said that during the election campaign, SDP officials would visit all parts of Croatia.

“The elections are called by the President of the Republic, and whenever he schedules them, it will suit us, but we are in favour of holding them as soon as possible so that a new government can be formed that will replace (new State Attorney-General Ivan) Turudic, prevent Lex AP and change the pension indexation model,” Grbin said.

“Earlier this week we witnessed a horrible thing, with the Conflict of Interest Commission exonerating government spokesman Marko Milic even though it is as clear as day that he fixed hirings,” Grbin said in reference to the Commission’s decision that Milic did not use his influence to help a friend get hired by the state-owned Hrvatske Sume forest management company.

Grbin added that “what has happened to the Commission will happen also to the Office of the State Attorney-General with Turudic at its helm.”

“The HDZ has euthanised the Commission”, because “cases that clearly indicate violations of the law are being shelved,” he said.

In a comment on the ten-member left-liberal coalition, which includes the Centre party of Split Mayor Ivica Puljak, with which the Split branch of the SDP disagrees, Grbin said that “local politics is one thing, and national politics another.”

As the leading opposition party, the SDP has a duty to gather opposition parties in order to enable a change of government, Grbin said. “Croatia cannot breathe with the HDZ in power,” he added.

As for Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s remark about the left-liberal coalition likening it to a sausage link, Grbin said that voters want that coalition while the coalition led by Plenković’s HDZ party, including “satellites like (HSLS leader and MP Dario) Hrebak, (HNS MP Predrag) Stromar and, judging by all reports, now also (Anto) Djapic,” is “past its expiration date”.