The president of the HDZ and HNS BiH, Dragan Čović, said that the appointment of the new federal government should be completed this month, but if that does not happen, he believes that we could fall into a crisis the likes of which we have probably never had before.
In an interview with Večernji list, he also said that he is extremely optimistic that we will certainly have a new government in April, but that it is also obvious that some transitional solution will have to be found in case this does not happen, because the deadlines have expired.
“This time there is an additional dose of optimism due to information that I cannot share with others. I am sure, namely, that in the next two weeks we will have a solution. Some are trying to enter into a new process of negotiations, and I have clearly said that we have finished them with our partners. Now we just need to see how to implement them. We will make all preparations to immediately enter the process of discussing changes to the Electoral Law and the Constitution due to the six-month deadline that we signed as part of the parliamentary majority, not only at the meetings in Brussels but also as part of the agreement with the political the parties of the Eight from Sarajevo and the SNSD”, said the president of HDZ BiH.
By agreeing on electoral and constitutional reforms, he added, we should avoid such situations forever, in favor of the rapid formation of government and efficient management of the country in the future.
He also believes that no well-intentioned person could count on the play of individual political leaders who used institutions, companies, and the intelligence-security system in order to achieve their narrowly partisan goals.
In his opinion, “this means that we are hostages of a radical political option, which promoted its maximalist interests in the name of its people at the expense of the other two constituent nations”.
He also talked about how to find a solution that would achieve functionality in the FBiH, and on the other hand, guarantee the Croats a position that after the next elections they will not become victims of being completely pushed out of power by the more numerous Bosniaks, saying that it is necessary to avoid any experiment and imposed solutions that would could threaten the position of equality of the constituent peoples and their legitimate representation when it comes to the election of delegates to the House of Peoples, that is, the Presidency of BiH, which is paramount.
At the same time, he referred to the Croatian member of the BiH Presidency, who, as he says, represents the Croats who did not elect him for the fourth time.
“We want to solve this permanently, and the high representative will not do it with his decisions. I believe that the high representative would never have intervened if there were no clear blockages from the same people who are doing it today. Along with that, in the election campaign, they announced that they had signed agreements with the Croats on the Electoral Law and the Statute of the City of Mostar and then knowingly obstructed the entire process,” Čović emphasized.
When asked if the high representative fulfilled the wishes of Croats and political Zagreb by making changes on the day of the election on October 2, he replied that this was absolutely untrue.
“Obviously, the high representative had to react because we did not make changes to the Electoral Law, and we entered the pre-election period. And mainly because he had already reacted twice before. Once regarding financing, which for me was completely unnecessary. In the meantime, spins from political Sarajevo taunted that the Croats would boycott the elections. And that was all an integral part of the manipulations that the Croats wanted to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina. I will also remind you that Mr. Izetbegović clearly stated before the election that he was buying time and did everything to prevent an agreement on changes to the Electoral Code of the law. Partners from the USA, the EU and the Venice Commission tried to help us. Negotiating in bad faith was clearly a red line and caused a reaction from the international community,” he said.
Croatian-Bosniak relations
For Večernji list, Čović also answered the question of whether the new partners can improve Croat-Bosniak relations, stressing that it will come naturally.
“People who yesterday were in the opposition and did not have that kind of responsibility, today they want to build new relationships. I am glad that a good part of those people, at least half of them from the Eight, understood that our story makes sense because it is for BiH. And not against her. What we have been doing with the SDA for the past 20 years has not yielded results. I would say that this now represents the building of new relations so that the legitimate representatives of the Croats make an agreement and power with the Eight,” he noted.
Dodik and leaving state institutions
The first man of the HDZ and the HNS of BiH also referred to the recent statements of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, about the termination of cooperation with the NATO alliance and leaving the institutions of BiH.
“I know Mr. Dodik very well and we have been cooperating for a long time. There is respect for that political action, human and political. He often comes up with such ideas. I must admit that we have never discussed this. Nor do we ever discuss the third. The statements are absolutely related to the situation in our environment, far more than the situation in BiH. I would never say that in such a way. Especially because of the strong partnership with international representatives in BiH. I always try to find a decent
a word even for those who are not kind to me. This is the only way we can build an environment in which we will be able to move forward together,” Cović said.
He also added that he has the feeling that the solution to the problems in our environment somewhat influences local politics.
“We are all talking about how we will make a step forward towards the EU. Me personally, but also Mr. Dodik, Mr. Nikšić, Mr. Konaković. We are continuing on that path. We have the feeling that the solution to the problems in our environment somewhat affects local politics. I think we will get out of it quickly.” , said in an interview for Večernji list the president of HDZ and HNS BiH Dragan Čović.
