Zagreb Mayor Lays Wreath at Mirogoj
Opposition portal Hrvatski glasnik sharply condemned the move, calling it a 'deliberate ideological pattern' and an attempt to redefine history.
Opposition portal Hrvatski glasnik sharply condemned the move, calling it a 'deliberate ideological pattern' and an attempt to redefine history.
On Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, August 7, 2026, the Mayor of Zagreb from the Možemo party laid a wreath at Mirogoj. What sparked fierce reactions was the absence of Croatian national symbols on the wreath, a move unprecedented since 1945.
The portal Hrvatski glasnik, in its article, sharply criticized the act, deeming it far more serious than a mere protocol oversight. "This is a continuation of a deliberate ideological pattern," the text states.
The article's author draws a direct parallel with the period after World War II, specifically the bloody May of 1945, when Croatian symbols were systematically removed from public spaces. "Omitting national symbols on a key state holiday in the very heart of the capital unmistakably evokes the spirit of 1945," adding that the message that was supposed to be consigned to history forever is now being revived under the slogan of 'protocol neutrality.'
As an example of a similar ideological pattern by the Možemo party, the portal also cites the Trnjanski krijesovi event.
Hrvatski glasnik, in its text, poses a rhetorical question about the symbolism of the holiday itself, emphasizing that Croatian defenders liberated the country in 1995 under the Croatian flag, not under neutral or party symbols. Quoting from the article: "When the authorities of the capital of all Croats on such a date deliberately 'forget' to place the tricolor on a commemorative wreath, that is not modernism or civic protocol. It is a direct attempt to redefine history and a continuation of the old policy of suppressing anything bearing Croatian national insignia."
Additionally, the portal directly addresses the mayor and his administration with the question: "Who exactly do you represent in Zagreb, and whose victory are you (not) celebrating?"
In the Hrvatski glasnik article, this move is not treated as a violation of the law, but as an act that "borders on a coup d'état, disparaging the state and all those for whom this day is called Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day." It emphasizes that this is a national holiday celebrating the foundations of Croatian statehood and the sacrifice of defenders.
