The ruling party claims the opposition is deliberately ignoring the pollution because it occurred in Krapina-Zagorje County, under SDP control, while Prime Minister Plenković says the waste issue in Gospić is being handled 'without hysteria'.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, HDZ sharply criticized the opposition parties Možemo! and SDP for what it describes as a complete lack of response to the pollution case in Poznanovec. In a Facebook post, they questioned why Možemo! coordinator Sandra Benčić and SDP president Siniša Hajdaš Dončić are not demanding resignations or a public hearing of stakeholders involved in the environmental incident.
"Why can't you hear a single word from the opposition about the environmental bomb in Poznanovec?" HDZ asked in the Facebook post. They immediately offered their own answer: they believe the lack of response is due to the fact that the incident occurred in Krapina-Zagorje County.
HDZ claims that in that county, "the SDP has long held absolute power, where an SDP county official has already been convicted of forging official documents when issuing a waste disposal permit, and where party cronies were dealing with the infamous Šincek couple." They describe the entire case as an example of "SDP's contamination, criminal gene, and toxic embrace," paraphrasing, as they say, the opposition's narrative.
The post further highlights that Sandra Benčić is from Poznanovec, i.e., from the municipality of Bedekovčina, where the SDP was in power until 2025. They concluded the message with "to be continued," suggesting they will continue with the accusations.
The accusations against the opposition come at a time when opposition parties are strongly reacting to a completely different environmental case: illegally dumped hazardous waste in Gospić. The opposition has demanded urgent remediation, the convening of an emergency session of the Croatian Parliament, and the dismissal of the government. The chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Nature, Dušica Radojčić from Možemo!, has called a thematic committee session for Friday, to be held in Gospić itself.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković responded to the criticism via Twitter, stating that the Croatian government is approaching the waste situation in Gospić seriously and responsibly. He accused the opposition of spreading panic. "We will accelerate the remediation process for a total of 37,000 tons of waste," Plenković wrote, adding that all those who committed criminal acts will be held accountable and that the state will also seek reimbursement of funds for the remediation.
Citing measurements by the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), the Prime Minister emphasized that there is no threat to drinking water in Lika and that the public will be regularly informed about water quality. "Just as we have solved problems related to various types of waste so far, everyone will be maximally engaged on the issue of waste in Gospić as well, but calmly, rationally, seriously, professionally, and responsibly, without hysteria, panic, or drama," Plenković said, adding that the coalition is stable and that the opposition's initiative to dismiss the government will end like many before it.
