Member of the European Parliament from the ranks of the SDP Tonino Picula he gave a big interview for Jutarnji list in which he talked about the new candidacy for the EU parliament. Namely, he is the last candidate on the SDP list.
However, apart from that, he criticized the SDP campaign and the nomination of Zoran Milanović as prime ministerial candidate, and he also said that he believes that (if there is no change in Banski dvori) there should be change in Pantovčak.
Speaking about why he is the last on the list, he said that he believes that he will be elected by the will of the citizens and that no one has yet exceeded his record from 2014, when he received 135,000 votes. He also said that he was offered the fourth place on the list, but he thought he did not deserve that position.
“But I was not only dissatisfied with the offered place on the list, but also with the whole series of strategies and tactics that the SDP chose for the parliamentary elections in Croatia. I thought that in this super-election year, I and the SDP were putting ourselves at risk – the party tying itself to the political ambitions of Zoran Milanović, and I, not agreeing with that strategy, put myself at risk by choosing to be the last on the list for the EP“, he said.
“Milanović is still the president, and SDP took a risk”
He further criticized the campaign that the SDP led before the parliamentary elections. He believes that better use should have been made of the February protest on Markovo Square. He believes that this should have been the starting point for gathering the opposition. “What happened that this process was interrupted and that this strategy was chosen, that really needs to be asked of those who participated in it. I do not agree with the decision to subordinate the party to the ambitions of one man”he said.
“We had a large turnout, but linking the SDP with the idea of the president becoming the prime minister may have motivated right-wing voters to go to the polls”, he said and assessed that with the project of Milanović for the prime minister, we had a pre-election drama, while now we have a post-election drama . “The campaign itself was relatively peaceful, and the results were in line with polls that predicted a relative victory for HDZ. And now we have a regular, and by no means extraordinary, situation in which the HDZ won the elections for the third time and now has the right, so to speak, to first buy out potential partners.” he said.
“With the fact that Zoran Milanović did not leave his comfort zone, no matter what he said. He is still the president of the country who does not resign, but with his inclusion in the election strategy, the SDP entered a risk zone from which it did not emerge as an election winner. Therefore, for me it is not a success and it would be a surprise if the HDZ consciously chooses the right as partners and does not form the Government. Being in the opposition for the third time is certainly not an affirmation of the social democratic idea in Croatia.”he said.
“Certainly there should be a change in Pantovčak”
He also commented on HDZ’s list for the EU elections, on which Andrej Plenković takes first place. Picula thinks that Plenković learned from the failure of the HDZ in the last EP elections, but also that he clearly has European ambitions. Speaking about his potential involvement in the European Commission, he said: “How realistic the story about Andrej Plenković is – it’s a matter of political interpretations. We will find out the real truth after the votes are counted on June 9a.”
Finally, he commented on the upcoming presidential elections and answered whether SDP should support Zoran Milanović’s candidacy for the new presidential term.
“If, after everything, there are no changes in Banski dvori, then there should certainly be changes in Pantovčak”he concluded for Morning.
