HDZ – the party of big drama

When Zoran Milanovic lost the election four years ago, in other words in November 2001, there were certainly those party members who wanted to lynch him due to the defeat. However, they didn’t do such thing. Using a shield of so-called ‘’anonymous’’ ones, but as a highly informed sources, they launched public critics regarding him. The critics were mostly about Milanovic being impulsive and arrogant, Milanovic being a person who doesn’t want to listen to his associates, a vengeful person who has a tendency of revenge towards people of different opinion, who does not care about party procedures prescribed by the SDP Constitution... But nobody was tempted to initiate an open war in media against him.

Nobody had ever mentioned openly that the president didn’t know what democratic process was. Nobody was warning him publicly about being responsible for the election defeat.

However, there were some ‘’steamy’’ reactions behind the scene, as in any other party after the election defeat. But public couldn’t hear about any kind of vengeful impact against him. From time to time there was a certain short episode when other anonymous source, not fond of the party boss, talked about Milanovic’s bad habits. And then we got other anonymous source close to the party boss returning the ‘’favor’’ by talking about indiscretions of the opponents. The whole situation lasted for short period of time and it didn’t have any ‘’killing’’ intensity. That is SDP. Milanovic’s opponents didn’t like him but they have always protected the party in public. If that meant not to attack Milanovic and not to deny his right to lead the party process in accordance to his vision (not vigorously at least), than they behave likewise. The recent election was a new chance for Milanovic to ‘’refresh’’ the party, to put it in other words, to get rid of some old staff. That’s how Zeljka Antunovic was removed. Davorko Vidovic has also disappeared. There was no more Tonci Vujic. And from now on they however don’t go public with their statements unless there is a chance. But if they eventually do so, they hold the SDP side and don’t deny Milanovic’s right as the party president to select some other people for his team.

In HDZ, however, there are some different people and different traditions....

HDZ has always turned disputes and antagonism into fratricidal war. The stories get intensive as they are being solved in public. That’s how it was after the election 2000 and Franjo Tudjman’s death when the party started to collapse from the inside. There was some fractions fight for the party take-over and conflicts to appear even in situations no one insane would expect to. One of those incidents for example happened when Mate Granic was supposed to be appointed for HDZ’s candidate for the state president in 2000. If he even had a chance to do something in the clash against other candidate Stipe Mesic (who was fairly incompetent then), those chances were irretrievably gone when, all of the sudden, Vladimr Seks appeared in newspapers claiming he could have been a candidate as well! The situation haven’t changed much from those days and today, when HDZ lost the election and ended up in opponents’ seats after two consecutive mandates, it is all the same.

Andrija Hebrang has decided to withdraw from his political retirement and - in order to paraphrase Ivo Sanader’s words - like Zorro the avenger initiated a public conflict with Jadranka Kosor. And others like Seks, Jadranka Kosor and Darko Milinovic also participated the game along with other anonymous sources who intensively report to media everything someone says in any corner of this political party. .. Unlike people in SDP who have saved the dignity of their party despite the intolerance they felt towards a young political leader, people in HDZ act like they completely lost a feeling of responsibility towards theirs. The streams are so unfriendly so people are asking how these people are going to continue their mutual cooperation after the party election. In our show ‘’Gledaj dalje’’ (‘’Look forward’’) Jadranka Kosor made a longing statement regarding a different behavior of people within SDP. ‘’Milanovic got rid of Zeljka Antunovic without mercy, and she still praises him’’ said the current boss of HDZ. She was obviously hurt by the way her opponents within the party treat her after the election.

HDZ’s problem is, as it seems, that after the defeat certain cognition starts to appear -people who lead the party like to think ‘’HDZ - that is me’’. There are no innocent ones in that story. Actually all party members act that way, some in public and some in discretion. Love and hate in HDZ are always more intensive than in other parties. This is a party of drama and grate intolerance, as they keep those two things unrevealed during quiet periods. And then, all of the sudden, they explode like purulent ulcers. HDZ will survive the current situation, but the question is how much compromising the party will be afterwards. But I guess every person who participate the current conflicts doesn’t care about that. They have learnt to live with discredit anyway.