Nine Years Since ‘Father’ Sanader Resigned

It was July 1, 2009. At that time, the president of HDZ and the Government, Ivo Sanader, called an extraordinary press conference, and just a few minutes later, the news echoed like a bomb. On all television channels, radio stations, and web portals, it could be heard and read: “For personal reasons, I resign from the position of Prime Minister and party president. I will not run for President of the Republic and I am withdrawing from politics.”

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To prevent speculation about his health status, he immediately, very strictly and curtly, which was already part of his public image, dispelled any potential concern about his own health and ruled out the possibility that his resignation was related to any engagement in the EU.

“I am withdrawing from politics because politics is serving the people, not oneself. And to preempt all possible questions, I must say that thank God I am not ill and that, although there were offers, I did not accept any position within EU institutions,” said Sanader without revealing the true reasons for his resignation.

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The claim that he does not rule out the possibility of returning to politics strangely hung in the air.

Journalists asked him if he was running away from problems, and he decisively denied it. However, he stated that he could not say that his resignation had nothing to do with the ineffectiveness in Croatia’s negotiations for EU membership.

“Believe me, my decision is well thought out and not hasty. As I said, I have done my part, and now it is time for others to succeed me,” Sanader explained on that first of July nine years ago, whose name found itself on Interpol’s wanted list within a year and a half.

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Since then, we have seen him in trials for the Hypo, Ina-MOL, and Planinska affairs. He became ‘Father’ and a star of the Facebook page Father is Coming Back.

He also took to writing. Within a year, he published two books. Last year, Detuđmanization was released, and he recently presented the second book from the trilogy Age of Politics titled Great Coalition.

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Why the Prime Minister, who was predicted to have a bright future in Brussels, left remains unclear and is still one of the great mysteries of contemporary Croatian politics. What is clear from today’s perspective is that July 1 was the beginning of his downfall, and fate took care of a little irony, as the only reason for which he admitted to having some responsibility for his departure was Croatia’s entry into the EU, achieved precisely on that date four years after his resignation.