On Monday, representatives of the Fokus party stated that the HDZ’s pre-election budget shows that they are in major trouble and on track to lose the elections. They accused the HDZ of trying to prevent this by buying votes using taxpayers’ money and burdening future generations in their efforts to shamelessly buy votes. Despite an increase in revenues from European funds, the Fokus leader, Davor Nađi, pointed out that these revenues are reduced by as much as one billion euros in the budget plan for the following year, while expenses continue to rise.

At a press conference at Parliament on “HDZ’s Super Pre-Election Budget for a Super Election Year,” Nađi highlighted that there has been a 70 percent increase in employee expenses and a 50 percent increase in citizen and household transfers over just two years. He criticized the budget as a means for the HDZ to improve their rating and accused them of not addressing any actual problems.

Dario Zurovec also spoke out at the conference, pointing to the disproportionate expenses of Croatian Roads and the lack of sports facilities despite spending large sums on projects like the Slavonija Project. He believes that the rulers’ policies have failed and are causing bigger problems for Croatia.

When asked about Ustashi shouts at a commemoration in Vukovar, Damir Bajs expressed his expectation for police to treat rioters similarly to how they handled recent unruly fans.