The president of HDZ and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader urged voters at the party convention for the seventh electoral district in Jastrebarsko on Tuesday evening to vote for the ‘reds’ if they want property tax, and if they do not want tax, to vote for HDZ.
"In Croatia, more than 90 percent of citizens own some property, and now the plan of those who prefer to call themselves comrades rather than gentlemen is to impose a property tax," Sanader said, adding that this is acceptable for those who are affluent but certainly not for people like fishermen and farmers who would have to take out loans or sell part of their property to pay the tax. HDZ, he added, will not introduce a tax on shares that citizens buy, while ‘they’ announce that they will do so. Emphasizing that this government has reduced the general government deficit, Sanader stated that opposition politicians are announcing that they will increase it again as it would generate economic growth.
"That is completely wrong," he asserted, adding that reducing the deficit and increasing economic growth can go hand in hand, which his government has achieved. The president of HDZ promised the continuation of all infrastructure projects in road construction, and he emphasized that they also want the gasification of Lika and Dalmatia, a water supply network in all parts of Croatia, and a lowland railway to Rijeka, as well as further modernization of HŽ. "All of this is what we want so that people can achieve their ambitions in Croatia and everything they want for themselves and their families," Sanader said. He promised retirees that by the end of the year, the fourth installment of the debt would also be returned to them.
He announced that soon every project of his government would be listed on a card for each county separately. Sanader, among other things, commented on the announcements from some opposition politicians that they would decriminalize soft drugs upon coming to power, stating that this is unacceptable as it sends a message to young people to use drugs. And HDZ offers young people free education; this government has already initiated incentive measures such as free textbooks and accommodation in student dormitories, as well as transportation to schools, he said, among other things, Sanader emphasized: "This is what we want for young people, that is why HDZ knows and that is why it is the Best because it does not take the path of least resistance." To opposition politicians who advocate for a referendum before Croatia joins NATO, he urged them to rise above themselves and not to do what harms Croatian interests.
