SDP President criticizes HDZ over “noise” in public debate

SDP President Siniša Hajdaš Dončić said on Saturday that the ruling HDZ and its partners are creating political and media “noise” to distract the public from what he described as serious societal problems.

Speaking at a session of the party’s Main Board, Hajdaš Dončić accused Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of allowing the normalization of the Ustasha movement and the Independent State of Croatia from World War II, claiming that the public discourse is being diverted from “tectonic changes” in Croatian society.

He stressed the need for rational, argument-based debate and said the SDP is focused on solutions for key issues such as the economy, fair distribution of wealth, and shortening working hours while maintaining income levels. Hajdaš Dončić added that HDZ dominates public space to marginalize the opposition, using political distractions and media spin to shift attention away from substantive issues.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and longtime HDZ member Željko Reiner responded by saying the SDP offers no solutions to citizens’ problems, instead focusing on fascism and the partisan movement while ignoring Serb ultranationalists and Chetniks. Reiner added that he hopes Hajdaš Dončić remains in leadership, as it would benefit the HDZ in future parliamentary elections.