Dear sisters and brothers, followers of Radić,
The Croatian people are honest, but every field of wheat has its weeds, and what is frightening is that the weeds have reached the very top of government. Just think of Sanader. Right now the big scandal in Croatia is the “per diem” affair.
When someone in government travels on official business, they hand in a travel order at the Parliament and are paid in cash on the spot. It turns out that some clever people handed in their travel orders and collected the money but never went anywhere. No one has been held responsible for this theft, and the money simply ended up in their pockets. That this kind of stealing goes on at the very top leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
On the bright side, Croatia’s economy is growing strongly. Gross national product is up and unemployment is down. This should slow the mass departure of young people, which has reached tragic levels, especially in Slavonia and the north of our homeland.
So there is some optimism in the air. Still, demographers have been warning us for years that the Croatian people are dying out: more of us die than are born.
At home, HSS is deeply divided. Its new president, Krešo Beljak, faces strong opposition over his autocratic leadership. Members are leaving, and the president has suspended leading figures in the party.
To name a few: Nenda Matić, president of HSS in Zagreb; Marijana Petir, a Croatian member of the European Parliament; and Darko Koren, head of HSS in Križevci and Koprivnica. Anyone who knows the history of HSS knows this is nothing new; it has happened before. We are confident it will not threaten the party’s survival.
Here in Canada there is little news. In Vancouver, Mladen Plečko is trying to win his way back into our organization. Knowing him as well as I do, I find it hard to imagine him back among us. In any case, that is for the local branch that expelled him to decide. The branches are holding their election meetings, and life goes on as usual.
Happy Easter!
Vjera u Boga i seljačka sloga!
Ivan Vukelić, President