Damir Bakić of Možemo! claims the HDZ's announcement of amendments to veteran pension laws is a forced move, and accuses the Speaker of Parliament of procedural tricks that have put their proposals on hold.
Zagreb city councilor and member of the Možemo! party, Damir Bakić, fiercely criticized the ruling HDZ on Thursday during the Novi dan show on N1 television, accusing them of repackaging opposition proposals to improve veteran pensions. His reaction came a day after Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced amendments to two laws at the celebration of the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin, which, according to him, will cover 200,000 Croatian veterans.
Bakić pointed out that his party had prepared two legislative proposals as early as early July 2026, aiming to improve pensions for veterans who continued working after the war and retired under the Pension Insurance Act. "We prepared two legislative proposals that sought to improve the pensions of veterans who continued working after the war and who retired (or will retire) under the Pension Insurance Act. The intention was clear, the rationale was clear. No one, despite the heated and ugly debate, disputed the assessment of the situation or the need to intervene," Bakić stated.
He was particularly harsh on the Speaker of Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, whom he accuses of using a procedural maneuver to keep opposition proposals out of the legislative process. According to Bakić, although the rules require that legislative proposals be placed on the agenda within 30 days, Jandroković refused to do so, citing the fact that the deadline stops counting on July 15, 2026, when Parliament ends its session.
"But then something very unusual happened, I would even say improper. According to the rules, if these proposals are technically in order, the Speaker of Parliament must place them on the agenda within 30 days. The Speaker places all regularly submitted legislative proposals on the agenda as soon as possible, within a few days. There is no reason to wait. Ours was not placed on the agenda," Bakić emphasized. "In other words, our legislative proposals were put on hold so that the Government could present theirs in the meantime. That's the political context."
Prime Minister Plenković, on August 5, 2026, at the Operation Storm anniversary celebration, promised that the lowest veteran pensions would also be increased according to the same criteria, and that the reduction of pensions for military and police personnel from 2002 would be abolished. "We will also increase the lowest veteran pensions according to the same criteria. We will also abolish the reduction of pensions for military and police personnel from 2002, which will cover 200,000 Croatian veterans," Plenković said.
Bakić, however, warns that not all details of the government's proposal are yet known. "We, like the public, heard about this proposal for the first time yesterday, during the celebration in Knin. We still don't know all the details, so it might be somewhat ungrateful to speak more precisely about it," he said. He also raised a series of questions he expects answers to: "It's not clear who all this will apply to. If these pensions are increased, will they only be increased going forward, or will it also apply to those who have already retired?"
Bakić believes that Plenković's announcement in Knin was a forced move. "Our arguments were never rejected; it seems to me that the Government had no choice but to crush that proposal, repackage it, and present it as their own," he asserted. Despite the sharp criticism, he emphasized that Možemo! is ready to constructively participate in the debate when the government's proposals reach the parliamentary procedure.
"We will be extremely engaged in that debate," Bakić said, adding that they will not reject the proposal just because it comes from the Government. "Once we see the legislative text, there will be an opportunity to discuss it more concretely. If needed, we can propose amendments and corrections. But we don't have that problem-we don't have a problem with taking a negative stance toward a proposal just because it's from the government. Parliament is not a place for stubbornness or acting out of vanity."
