Opačič and Mrsić Received Warning Before Expulsion from SDP

The Main Board of the SDP issued a warning before expulsion to Milanka Opačić and Miranda Mrsić due to the damage they caused to the party with their public statements, reported the president of the Main Board, Erik Fabijanić, to journalists after an eight-hour meeting of the Main Board.

The Main Board thus confirmed the decision for which 13 members voted at the Presidency meeting, while Vedran Babić, Bojan Glavašević, and Peđa Grbin abstained.

Until now, the decisions of the Main Board have been discredited, but from now on, tolerance in this regard will be lower because it concerns public statements by people engaged in politics who are very responsible for every publicly spoken word, he said.

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He emphasized that everyone has the right to a personal opinion, but for those engaged in public work, he said, a personal opinion is, unfortunately, sometimes a luxury. This does not mean censorship, but exclusively responsible political communication, said Fabijanić.

Contribution to Destruction

He noted that many companies and several parties have policies regarding what and when can be said publicly. Freedom of speech and opinion is very important and fundamental for the work of any political party, but the point is that before conclusions are made, the discussion must be sincere and reasoned and must occur exclusively within the party bodies, he added. This does not mean that one should not have the right to their own opinion, but it is another matter to contribute to destruction, which is very serious and not good, he added.

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When asked why others who publicly criticized the party were not sanctioned, he said that the SDP decided to strengthen the principles of action regarding public communication.

He also added that he believes Peđa Grbin, who also publicly expressed criticism, “received an answer under item 1” – namely, under that item on the agenda of the Main Board meeting, the president of the SDP received support for his work.

When asked to clarify the demand that members who left the SDP return their parliamentary mandates to the party, Fabijanić explained that this refers to Tomislav Saucha and Tomislav Žagar. He said he knows that the mandate is irrevocable according to the Constitution and that it is solely a moral act. If they have forgotten this, he said, the Main Board will remind them of it in writing.

Komadina: Warnings Before Expulsion Are a Message That Everyone Is Needed in SDP

The Vice President of the SDP, Zlatko Komadina, stated that after Milanka Opačić and Miranda Mrsić received warnings before expulsion due to the damage they caused to the party with their public statements, it is a message that everyone is needed in the SDP and an opportunity for them to contribute as they did in times when they were frontmen of that party.

“Unfortunately, recently they have harmed the SDP. They must understand that they need to help the party like everyone else, because strong social democracy is needed in Croatia, especially in these times,” Komadina said for Dnevnik HTV.

When asked why only the two of them received warnings considering there were other party members who called for Bernardić’s removal, Komadina said that the SDP wanted to send a message of inclusivity and that it did so today.

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He said that this is the mildest possible sanction, a clear message to everyone that this will not be tolerated in the future and that “we need to work for the benefit of social democrats, and social democrats for the benefit of the citizens of Croatia.”

According to him, since Bernardić “received unanimous support from the Presidency and the Main Board, there is no recall of the president, no extraordinary convention, and it has been completely denied what has been constantly incorrectly presented in public about the president not enjoying trust.”

Komadina said that the voting was public because no one even proposed that it be secret, but he “deeply believes that SDP members think the same when voting publicly and secretly.”

When asked if he expects someone to raise the issue of trust in Bernardić at the party convention scheduled for December this year, Komadina said that those who are responsible will not engage in destruction.

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“The Main Board and the Presidency have clearly stated that we have thematic, programmatic, and statutory matters to deal with, there is a lot of work ahead of the SDP, we need to focus on work, not destruction,” he asserted.

Commenting on the criticisms of the party’s parliamentary club, he said that a huge number of members of that club are doing their job correctly. “There was a desire for greater coordination between the Presidency and the Club. Arsen Bauk and the party president will certainly have work to do here, but the responsibility of the Club members is also expected,” concluded Komadina.