Edis Felić: Hrebak does not deserve to be mocked by Raspudić for his transparency

I waited for the elections to pass before commenting on the unnecessary and senseless attack Nino Raspudić, the newly elected parliamentary representative of Most, on the mayor of Bjelovar Dario Hrebak, who is also the president of HSLS. First of all, I want to congratulate both of them for entering the Croatian Parliament, but I also believe that Raspudić should apologize to Hrebak for mockingly calling him 'Mr. Transparent' at the end of the election campaign.

They attracted investors

Here’s why. Most criticized HDZ and its coalition partners because the ruling party did not accept their Proposal for the Law on the Availability of All Politicians’ Expenses, modeled after the one in Canada. Given that Hrebak was a direct competitor, Raspudić jabbed at the mayor of Bjelovar and HDZ’s coalition partner by asking why he is transparent in Bjelovar, but does not want to be at the national level with HDZ.

He mockingly called him 'Mr. Transparent', alluding to the fact that Hrebak is not as transparent as he likes to present himself. However, the otherwise good proposal from Most was rejected primarily due to HDZ’s stance, not HSLS’s, so the criticism towards HDZ stands, but towards Hrebak, a man who is one of the most successful mayors in the country and who has already made an impact in his community, is not only senseless but was also very ugly of Raspudić.

It should be noted that Bjelovar was the first in Croatia to introduce complete financial transparency, allowing citizens to track in real-time how city money is spent through an application. During his term, kindergartens in the city area were renovated, part of the schools, Borik as a place for recreation, and it is particularly interesting that during Hrebak’s term, the surtax was halved; the plan was to abolish it by the end of his term, which probably will not happen so quickly due to the consequences of the corona crisis. Nevertheless, the most important thing for entrepreneurs is that Bjelovar has become, besides being transparent, the first tax-free city in the country, which means that entrepreneurs will have the right to purchase land at a privileged price of one kuna per square meter, and they will pay the same for utility contributions and fees. The condition is that when building economic capacities within three years from the finality of the building permit, they must open at least ten jobs and retain employees in employment for at least five years.

Due to the transparency of the authorities and favorable conditions, they attracted investors, and as Hrebak once stated on the portal gradonačelnik.hr, last year was the best in the history of Bjelovar. When he took over the city in 2017, the budget execution was just over 130 million kuna, in 2018 it was already 148 million kuna, and this year he expected even 180 million kuna, primarily thanks to successful withdrawals from EU funds.

Most has a new opportunity

There are no scandals trailing Hrebak, he is acceptable to entrepreneurs, and the fact that Raspudić mocked his transparency by calling him 'Mr. Transparent' and questioning why he is not transparent at the national level with his coalition partner is another story. Namely, one must be realistic because HSLS, which Hrebak alone keeps afloat, is not in a position to set conditions for HDZ, and especially is not able to be principled on matters that Raspudić (Most) criticizes.

Let’s imagine that Hrebak blackmailed Plenković by insisting that Most’s Proposal for the Law on Transparency be accepted, or he would not coalition with HDZ, Plenković would reject him, and it might happen that Hrebak would not pass in the Parliament. This way, it is a good thing that Hrebak, as a person who has shown a sense for transparency and attracting investments, has entered the Parliament, just as I believe that Most’s new success in the elections is welcome, which has influenced changes in the political life of the country in recent years. Therefore, Most (and that means Raspudić) has the opportunity to re-initiate the initiative for the voting of the mentioned law, but to address the right address – HDZ, and primarily call them out, not Hrebak, to whom Raspudić should apologize for alluding to something he is not. 

POST SCRIPTUM
In the parliamentary elections last week, Nino Raspudić and Dario Hrebak won mandates in the second electoral district. Raspudić received votes from 8045 voters, while Hrebak received 6214 votes. Both have electoral legitimacy, so I hope that their future struggle in Parliament will proceed with mutual justified criticism and fair relations, without below-the-belt punches.

{embed_digitalno_izdanje}{/embed_digitalno_izdanje}