On Monday, the President of the Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, assessed that the main intention of the Initiative for a referendum to change the electoral law is to weaken the political system, and stated that instead, political parties and education should be strengthened and democratized. The civic initiative “The People Decide” announced that from May 13 to 27, it will collect signatures for calling a referendum on changes to the electoral system, with the aim, as they announced, to ensure greater decision-making by voters about their parliamentary representatives, greater voter participation in elections, and a reduction in political trading and corruption.
“It seems to me that the main purpose is to weaken the political and party system that we have now. Of course, it has its weaknesses, it is far from ideal, but it does not mean that every change brings something good. There are changes that can shake even the good that exists,” Jandroković stated in Parliament after opening a simulated parliamentary session for students.
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He emphasizes that instead of changing the electoral law, the focus should be on the advantages that the current political system carries, eliminating shortcomings, strengthening and democratizing political parties, and enhancing education.
“I believe that the disintegration of political parties does not lead to anything good. I think that strengthening the system, education, and democratization of parties is a better path than individually emphasizing only those individuals who will, most often using social networks and mass media, draw attention to themselves,” Jandroković said.
“And what actually hides behind them as individuals, we only discover when they become political stars or starlets here, where very often there is no substantial content, but everything leads to some attraction or cheap form,” he asserted.
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Regarding a possible request for a constitutional review of that initiative, Jandroković stated that he would take a position on that later. The President of the Parliament also commented on the demographic situation in the country, asserting that the Government is working on it, but that more always needs to be done.
“In my opinion, the Government is doing quite a bit, some laws have been amended and some measures for demographics have been adopted, economic numbers are positive, and we need to fully utilize EU membership. It seems like a lot, but when it comes to the stay and return of residents, no measure alone is sufficient, many are needed, and we always need to do more to improve the situation,” he said.
He emphasized that emigration is one of the biggest problems that Croatia has, but also that this problem has been present in Croatia for decades, and that emigration has increased significantly after full EU membership.
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“Some of them decided to go to other countries believing that there are better salaries and living conditions. That is their right, and the task of politics is to ensure that as many people as possible not only stay but also return. And we can do that by improving the economic situation in the country,” he said, emphasizing that economic results are very good, that we are likely expecting the most successful tourist season in history, and that a large number of jobs remain unfilled.
The President of the Parliament also reflected on the almost empty parliamentary chamber last week, reminding that some parliamentary clubs strongly advocated for the Parliament to work every week.
“Now that we have started working every week, we see that the interest, even among those clubs that were very vocal about working every week, is much smaller and that their representatives do not come,” he said, adding that he expects representatives to come to their workplaces.
