Zoran Paunovic from the SDP: We did not fail in local elections, but we had higher expectations
In the discussion of the analysis of the results of local elections, we concluded that we should continue to work on to strengthen local organizations. GO also reached the conclusion that we condemn all irregularities related to the voter committees, Paunovic reported after a session of the highest party body.
« We expected that we would achieve a slightly better result, which the Main Board today also emphasized, however, we are pleased with all those environments in which we won the elections as well as where we achieved a significant step by number of councilors and mandates. I would not say that we failed in local elections, but we had more expectations, » he said to the party analysis of local elections.
It is good to see how many councilors are, especially in some environments where we have not won before, but, he emphasizes, we have a serious work on the strengthening of terrain and party policies in the next three years so we can really be ready to take responsibility for the state. This election showed that the SDP is the strongest opposition party to have an ambition to take power in the country in the next parliamentary election, Paukovic said.
Political Secretary of SDP Sasa Djujic reported that GO confirmed the proposal for the decision of the Presidency on the dissolution of the organization of the City of Zagreb and his appointment as a commissioner until the election. « It’s ‘Clean Start’, restructuring, changing mode and functioning and starting work on the field. We will continue to host 25 other cities in which we start from the beginning, » he said, on the basis of GO’s analysis and recommendation, « he said.
This does not necessarily mean, he explained that there will be a dissolution in these cities, but our goal is to open that organization to new people, not necessarily young people, but certainly with new faces to strengthen the terrain and prepare for parliamentary elections.
When asked where he thought they were wrong in the local elections, Djujic replied that they may have made a mistake by selecting some candidates, neglected in the field in some areas. « The main problem is that we have individual environments that have gone into their existing positions and cannot come out of them and we want to change it. The mistake is that we went to many environments with the old people who were the second or third choices, and before they did not achieve success and we will change that, » he explained.
Djujic confirmed that Josko Klisovic, the president of the Zagreb City Assembly in the last term, was elected Executive Secretary for International SDPs, which, he says, is raising the international work of the party to a higher level. He denied that this was a compensation to Klisovic for the fact that he was no longer the leader of the Assembly, because, he says, before the new year, they planned Klisovic for the new president of the party for the position. It is an experienced diplomat, we don’t have many people in the SDP for these jobs and he is the perfect choice for that duty, he added.
He also stated that only one or two discussions were critical of the decision of the Presidency on the dissolution of the leadership of party organizations in the four largest cities, while the others believe that, although these are not popular measures, unfortunately, has no other way out. Most of the discussions went in the direction of supporting the decision of the Presidency, Djujic said.
Four voted on the dissolution of the leadership of the Zagreb SDPs of Zagreb, with one restrained voice, and among the opponents was the former president of that organization Branko Kolarić. Djujic notes that Kolarić did not rebel but made his view that he did not agree with the dissolution and tried to argue. But, he emphasized, behind him a whole number of other members, even veterans such as Miranda Mrsic and Igor Dragovan, commented on the opposite because they believe that, unfortunately, it was necessary.
