Member of the ultra-conservative party Hrast and their only MP, Hrvoje Zekanović, commented the ratification of the Istanbul Convention announced by Prime Minister Plenković after attending a meeting of all government coalition parties on Wednesday (March 21).
“This is a key issue for me and for Hrast. And this time I was very explicit. The Istanbul Convention is unacceptable for my party and for me, and I intend to vote against it,” Zekanović told N1.
Zekanović’s party is a junior member of the ruling coalition led by the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which also includes the centre-left Croatian People’s Party (HNS) and a host of independents, securing it a thin margin in the 151-seat parliament.
“If this convention really gets passed by parliament the way it looks like it will be, it will mark a turning point that will fundamentally change the relationship between HDZ and Hrast,” said Zekanović, but stopped short from explicitly saying whether Hrast would quit supporting the ruling coalition.
Various conservative and right-wing groups expressed opposition in recent weeks over the ratification of the so-called Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women, citing introduction of “gender ideology” in some of its clauses, as well as the financial cost of implementing its provisions.
Some prominent members of HDZ also publicly opposed the move, defying party leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, before the proposal to ratify the convention was passed by a 19-6 vote in a meeting of party presidency on Tuesday (March 20). Plenković announced the ratification bill would be discussed in a government session on Thursday before being sent to parliament for a vote.
“I think we should first see how this will go in tomorrow’s government session. I am very curious to see if all ministers will vote for this controversial document. I am also curious to see how many HDZ party MPs will vote for this controversial document in parliament. I’m also interested to see if SDP will support this document, since it will be accompanied by a statement which has no legal power. If all of that happens, you will get a very clear answer from the Hrast party,” said Zekanović.
The main opposition party, the Social Democrats (SDP) said they would support the ratification, but would boycott any of the proposed reservations added to the text that some coalition members proposed.
“For our party this is a key document that is very divisive and which will determine the political path of HDZ and the entire government,” Zekanović said, and added that a decision on whether to remain in the coalition would be made in days following Easter, or April 1. “As for leaving the coalition, we will not do something like that just because reporters are asking us about it, or the public expects it – we will do it when we judge it to be the wisest thing to do politically,” Zekanović told reporters.
