Milanović says the faculty of political science should avoid teaching ideology

The Croatian President attended a ceremonial session of the Faculty of Political Science on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of its founding and Faculty Day at the University of Zagreb on Friday.

In his address at the ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb today, President Zoran Milanović called on students to reflect on the future and the purpose of institutions such as the European Union and NATO. He also warned of ideology in lecture halls, intellectual brow-beating and condescending know-it-all attitudes, which he appeared to link to the political left: "I think that your institution needs to first and foremost develop methods, categorical apparatus, expertise, curiosity and skepticism, not ideology. Because this arrogant ideology that some call liberal terror, and I consider myself a liberal and left-leaning person - I am not a right-winger and never will be, but this kind of haughty arrogance that condescends and patronizes everyone is a terribly expensive story."

The president said that he believes that Croatia, as a country, is lacking an agenda, a program or a course of action: "What is the next thing that we need to occupy ourselves with? What field do we need to prove ourselves in? What do we need to protect ourselves from? This is a vacuum and I see nothing in that void except the fight for European funds."

With regard to the current situation in Croatia Milanović cited the faculty building as an example, noting that it was renovated with European funds, but that in reality, this is more or less all that Croatia gets from the European Union. Croatia, he said, receives facades, tiles, parquet floors and roofs from the EU, while in terms of competitiveness, resilience, economic strength and productivity Milanović sees no real progress. He also warned against the European Union moving towards becoming a supra-national state.

"I hope that the younger generation knows what kind of Europe it is for," Milanović concluded.

Source: HRT