ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE HDZ, DjURO PERICA, GIVES AN ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTION DEFEAT OF HIS PARTY

We must return to the old statute and the founding principles of HDZ

Personally, I do not support a change in the Constitution, because I consider that to be very unserious. A nation that constantly changes its Constitution is not politically mature. That is my viewpoint, while we are yet to hear the HDZ viewpoint. There are those who, due to their unfulfilled ambitions and bad intentions, most probably want a charge to the Constitution, if for no other reason, to spite the person that is elected as President

Tudjman did not create anything! They are fairytales for young children! People needed to say that to gain favour with Tudjman and reap benefits for themselves! Nobody creates anything alone! HDZ formed a team of determined people, headed by Tudjman

I do not believe in the big changes that are being announced, nor am I aware of what they will be changing. To me it seems as though the victors are reconsidering very quickly, which means they are not fulfilling the promises given in the pre-election campaign

Vesna Kljajic

          “According to the number of seats in parliament, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is the strongest party, but in reality you are the biggest losers. Why is that so?”
          “It is a fact that the election results have shown that HDZ has lost power and in my opinion will temporarily be leaving authority in the House of Representatives. However, it is also a fact that HDZ still has a majority in the House of Counties and therefore the results should not be looked upon badly by HDZ nor should there be any great euphoria by the victors. I do not believe in the big changes that are being announced, nor am I aware of what they will be changing. In politics one should be cautious with unrealistic promises and irrational expectancies. To me it seems as though the victors are reconsidering very quickly, which means that they are not fulfilling the promises given in the pre-election campaign.”
          “As far as can be heard from people in the HDZ who have been appointed to various state institutions and companies, they are not even considering remaining in their positions, even if the ruling coalition offers them to do so.”
          “That is a personal decision. I personally would not be happy co-operating with the people who during their time in power persecuted me. The issue of Croatian reconciliation is my decision, but that does not mean that I would refuse working as a clerk.”
          “Has the party taken up an official position on whether some of the members would accept positions in the future Government or state-owned companies?”
          “We must decipher something: due to the very fact that the party has not taken up a position on anything, with the exception of the Presidency that has been making all the decisions that it has, the election results have panned out the way that they have. Up until now they have not been listening to the view of the party and they have marginalized HDZ municipal and county committees. The party’s Presidency has exclusively, in an authoritarian manner, decided on everything. Therefore, they have not listened to the voice of the membership and that has been HDZ’s biggest mistake.”

Shadow of the former President
          “Who put together such a Presidency?”
          “There is something about HDZ that is known but that nobody has publicly mentioned. In my speech at the HDZ Chief Committee I stated that certain ways of functioning and conduct are behind us and that the current statute of the party actually does not say anything. It does and does not give a sense of party direction and at the next assembly it will have to be changed from its roots. In other words, we have to return to the old statute and the party’s founding principles; otherwise, the party’s future would be questionable. People could manipulate this statute in any which way that they wanted and some people introduced it as such, so that an authoritarian rule in the party could be maintained. The President was sacred in creating the Croatian state, but as a human being he made mistakes. One of them is the ‘twanging’ Presidency that we have, these horns in a bag. That is a direct consequence of the President’s moves that he made as he pleased. The authoritarian approach was justified at the beginning, but not any more. We must become a democratic and not authoritarian union. I hope that we have not lost our political wisdom and that we will have enough intelligence to analyse the causes of such an election debacle.”
          “What tones could be heard at the HDZ Chief Committee meeting?”
          “The tones depended on the mood of those that induced them, depending on what people expected and what they got. Original HDZ members preserved a dose of political wisdom and took into account not to destroy the party’s image. A lost match does not mean a lost championship. As a political party we are too serious to allow what ‘Jutarnji list’ wrote – “HDZ is falling part.” I am very interested to know whether those reporters that attacked HDZ “just because they are in power” will now attack the red and yellow coalition.”
          “I do not believe that this coalition will last long: the leaders of both parties will fulfil their ambitions because political pragmatism has sense to a point, but once they sober up, the people will begin asking what has happened to human dignity. If some people from the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) begin disliking that conduct, then they will turn to HDZ who will again win in parliament. Let them not forget that.”

Oaths of allegiance
          “Do you believe that Mate Granic will be elected as President?”
          “Why wouldn’t I believe that? Granic has political respect, while yesterday I heard that the State Department gave public support to Mate Granic. Since the Americans have sorted out the situation in Croatia, maybe they will manage to sort this one out as well. Apart from that, I believe that the quality of these elections will be different. Presidential elections are a totally different matter: It is not the parliament that is in question, but rather the person that will represent all the citizens of Croatia and it is clear that the dignity of that person must be taken into account. Currently I do not see a more serious candidate than Mate Granic. I am not underestimating my friend Drazen Budisa, but it is one thing to want and another thing to know.”
          “Do you support reducing the President’s authorities?”
          “Personally I do not support a change in the Constitution, because I consider that to be very unserious. A nation that constantly changes its Constitution is not politically mature. That is my viewpoint, while we are yet to hear the HDZ viewpoint. There are those who, most probably due to their unfulfilled ambitions and bad intentions, want a change to the Constitution, if for no other reason, to spite the person that is elected as President. I do not support drastic changes, because what happens if a part of the unsatisfied people in HSLS leaves the coalition because of unfulfilled promises that they were given? What happens if a part of those people join HDZ? Then we would have elections every six months! That is why I oppose constitutional changes.”

Alternative parties
          “Do you expect some people to leave HDZ and form an alternative party?”
          “That has happened in the past and will happen in the future, but HDZ is not burdened by the past.”
          “Was HDZ created by Franjo Tudjman?”
          “Tudjman did not create anything! They are fairytales for young children! People needed to say that to gain favour with Tudjman and reap benefits for themselves! Nobody creates anything alone! HDZ formed a team of determined people, headed by Tudjman. We Croats obviously have a bad memory and easily inherit false promises, which the most recent elections have shown. We do not have the strength to say “Apge Satanas!”
          “There were tycoons, rich people. That’s what bothered the people…”
          “The people are only a platitude. Forget the people!”
          “Okay. Forget the people that massively turned out for the elections and did not vote for HDZ. What is your opinion and why?”
          “Unrealistic expectancies that honey and milk would be flowing once we had Croatia are the core of the problems. People do not like uncomfortable things, and there are objective reasons and shortcomings as to why we failed to improve the social situation in the country. I was in Berlin a month ago and heard that Germany has invested DEM 70 billion into the eastern part that it annexed. However, it has shown that there has been no improvement over the past decade. We on the other hand expected to, by way of a wonder, turn water into wine. We will now see what this Government will achieve.”
          “You said that the Social-Democratic Party - Croatian Social Liberal Party coalition (SDP-HSLS) would not last long…”
          “That coalition will last until it is possible to fulfil internal promises that they made to one another. The moment when somebody does not get what they were promised, the coalition will begin cracking. I see more joint points in the Coalition Four, which could actually be one party if it was not for Vlado Gotovac, who is slightly different. They have close programmes, while regarding the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), there is not a great deal of difference between HSS and HDZ. I believe that the people from HSS will begin co-operating with HDZ once the promises to them are not fulfilled. These election results did have a good point – it became clear that there is no need for so many political parties and so much political egoism. I think the time has come for all those small parties to melt into larger ones. Either into HDZ or the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), as was the case with Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU).”
          “Have HDZ passions cooled down following the defeat at the elections?”
          “Some people still do not comprehend what has happened. I am absolutely certain that the causes of the debacle will be analysed. We are virtually already beginning our election campaign, because four years pass very quickly. I have been a parliament member for ten years and, believe me, that time goes quickly.”

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