Independent presidential candidate Marija Selak-Raspudic said on Wednesday that Croatia has been held hostage to bad politics for years. She called on voters to elect a head of state in the upcoming election who stands for real change.

“The established political structures are relying on the apathy of citizens. They believe that citizens are stupid and primitive and want the same people to represent them, but this is not true,” Selak-Raspudic said at her campaign headquarters, two days before the presidential candidates begin collecting signatures for their candidacies.

“Citizens want a president who is reasonable and civilised and who represents them with dignity. That is why I call on citizens and members of political structures not to be treated like sheep, but to join forces and bring about change in Croatia,” she said.

Continuity of bad politics

Selak-Raspudic said that the continuity of bad politics was evident in cases of public procurement of medical equipment involving the same people, both in the government of Zoran Milanovic and in the government led by Andrej Plenkovic, as well as in the return of illegal migrants to Croatia.

“The Dublin Agreement was revised in 2013 during the term of the Milanovic government. Neither his nor Plenkovic’s governments have protected Croatia from illegal migration. Moreover, the implementation plans for the reception centres for the so-called problematic migrants will be adopted in a few weeks,” she said.

Selak-Raspudic said she would collect signatures for her presidential candidacy in around 20 cities across the country and visit all cities according to a schedule presented on Thursday.

In a message to President Zoran Milanovic, she said she would make it difficult for him to win a second term and that she was the only candidate who could take him on.