The ruling coalition of the Independent List and SDP has collapsed after just one year, with councilors stating they no longer wish to participate in a 'political circus, secret deals, and trading of support.'
The political scene in Baška Voda was shaken on Saturday, August 9, 2026, when six members of the Municipal Council publicly announced they no longer support Mayor Vjekoslav Radić. This move marks the de facto dissolution of the ruling coalition of the Independent List (NL) and the SDP, which had brought Radić victory in the third round of local elections and ended the HDZ's 32-year hold on power.
The joint statement was signed by SDP councilors Melinda Borković and Dino Beroš, along with independent councilors Nikolina Divić, Luka Granić, Matejas Josipović, and Josip Topalović. They constitute six of the seven councilors from the ruling majority, seriously calling Radić's majority in the council into question.
In their address, the councilors emphasized that the decision was not made overnight. They stated that over the past year, they had repeatedly warned about problems and tried to spur change, but their proposals, they claim, fell on deaf ears.
"The mayor, for whom we fought and in whom we placed our trust, no longer has our support," the councilors said.
They added that they did not enter politics for positions or personal gain, but because they believed that the interests of the Municipality and its residents must come before political and individual interests. "We didn't want to tear down. We wanted to fix. We gave chances and believed that things could change through dialogue and mutual respect. Unfortunately, our warnings and proposals were not heeded," they stated.
The statement did not stop at criticizing the mayor. They also addressed relations within the Municipality, saying they no longer wish to be part of a "political circus, secret deals, calculations, and trading of support." They also called out the current opposition, claiming that cooperation with the mayor is being negotiated behind the scenes. Specific names and details of the alleged agreement were not provided, but the councilors announced that things would soon come to light.
"Soon you will see for yourselves that in politics, anything is possible, including interest-based cooperation between those who were until yesterday the greatest political enemies," the statement reads.
Although they have withheld confidence in the mayor, the councilors stressed that this does not mean they will automatically vote against every proposal from the municipal government. "We will support any decision that is good for our Municipality, regardless of who proposes it. We will continue to fight against every bad decision, regardless of who stands behind it," they said.
As priorities for their future work, they highlighted issues related to Baško Polje, the Port, audits, public procurement, spending of municipal funds, and the urban plan. "We were not elected to stay silent. We were elected to represent you. And that is exactly what we will continue to do," concluded Borković, Divić, Beroš, Granić, Josipović, and Topalović.
As Josip Topalović stated on behalf of the coalition for Slobodna Dalmacija, they are addressing the public solely as councilors whom the residents have entrusted. "When we accepted this honorable and responsible duty, we knew why we were getting into all of this. We did not enter for positions..." said Topalović.
