The former president of Vukovar's SDP chapter resigned from the party of his own accord, accusing some members of multiple attempts to oust him, and in his farewell letter also criticized the party leadership over its stance on Marko Perković Thompson's concert.
Kruno Raguž, the former president of the SDP City Organization in Vukovar, announced on Wednesday that he is leaving the party of his own accord. In a lengthy statement sent to the media on August 6, 2026, Raguž stated that he made the decision due to a loss of trust and multiple attempts to remove him and obstruct his work, adding that he will continue his political engagement as an independent councilor in the Vukovar City Council.
"As of today or tomorrow, of my own free will, I am no longer a member of the SDP, and by extension, I have lost the title of president of the SDP City Organization in Vukovar. They finally succeeded, and on the fourth attempt," Raguž wrote in the letter, as reported by Jutarnji list. He thanked the party for its support but highlighted the removal of his posting rights on the Facebook page as the last straw. "The removal of my posting rights on the Facebook page I perceived as a sign of distrust, even humiliation, and I simply could not overlook that," he added.
Raguž also revealed how he joined the party, saying it happened at the urging of the SHD to help Biljana in Vukovar. At a time when she did not dare to run for mayor, she assigned the role of acting president to Mrs. Maduna, which led to the organization's collapse.
In his letter, Raguž detailed three alleged attempts to remove him from the helm of the Vukovar SDP. The first occurred immediately after he won the internal party elections with a 17:15 result. At that time, he claims, his opponents brought "drunk people to vote" and went "to the bedsides of the sick" to discredit him. He attributes this to his refusal to participate in a "collective resignation" during the campaign for the last European Parliament elections, aimed at toppling Grbin.
The second attempt, according to Raguž, was organized by Mario Milković, whom he describes as an "HDZ-style SDP member," by initiating the founding of the SDP Women's Forum in Vukovar without his knowledge. In the third attempt, a key role was played by a member he had reinstated into the party against the statutes and appointed as a responsible person during the summer, who then, with the help of someone from Mikanovci, organized a meeting to oust him. He also directed criticism at Milinković, saying that in four years at the helm of the county, he "has not uttered a word against the HDZ," as well as at a priest in the Naselje neighborhood who "preaches on election day."
A significant portion of Raguž's letter is devoted to criticizing the SDP leadership's stance on the protest by the Vukovar organization against Marko Perković Thompson's concert in the city. The party leadership, he says, explained the protest as "poorly timed" and conveyed that "the SDP's opponent is not a singer, but the HDZ."
"Fine, but the opponent of life in a city that is still wounded, a threat to the standard of living and the economic survival of our citizens, which can no longer wait and hesitate, is currently the singer," Raguž said. He added that "no one blamed Ivana from Supetar for her timing," alluding to double standards within the party.
In the letter, Raguž also reflected on the situation in Vukovar, mentioning the "mental torture" after the Erdut Agreement, the emigration of the population, and the "occupation" by foreign workers and loan-sharking companies. He also criticized the "eternal mayors" in Slavonian villages who, he claims, use EU funds without real benefit to the community.
Despite leaving the SDP, Raguž announced he will remain in local politics. "I will continue to act through the Vukovar City Council as an independent councilor, and I believe that a party should not be a place where the worthless languish and build careers, but a place where ideas are honed for a better life and a fairer society," he concluded.
