Davorko Vidović, a former minister in Račan's government, has become a special advisor to Finance Minister Tomislav Ćorić for a monthly gross fee of €1,417, confirming the Prime Minister's long-standing affinity for this party that split from the SDP.
In recent days, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has been reiterating that his government is rectifying the injustices inflicted on war veterans during Ivica Račan's tenure. Ironically, he has chosen as a key associate in this process none other than the man who was in charge of the pension portfolio in Račan's government, Davorko Vidović.
Vidović recently accepted Plenković's offer and became a special advisor to Finance Minister Tomislav Ćorić. For a monthly gross fee of €1,417, he will advise on public finance matters. Given that he is a retiree, this money will come in handy, as reported.
In a statement to Hina, Vidović said that Plenković's offer surprised him and that he accepted it as "recognition of his professional experience in pension and social policy." However, the surprise is questionable given that the Prime Minister had openly offered him a coalition as early as April 2023 during a parliamentary Q&A session.
At that time, Plenković, responding to Social Democrat MP Ivana Posavec Krivec's remark "you and I are Europhiles," told Vidović: "Since you said that both you and we are Europhiles, but above all we are here to represent national interests, I see this as an opening for a possible post-election coalition, once you get more votes than those who kicked you out of the SDP. That would be good because it seems to me that, unlike them, you show inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness."
The Prime Minister's sympathies for the Social Democrats, a party formed by splitting from the SDP, date back at least to mid-December 2022. At that time, the Social Democrat Club, which had 17 MPs, was among the few opposition groups to vote in favor of Croatia's participation in the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM).
During those days, Vidović commented for Novi list: "We are very critical of the government, but at the same time fully European-oriented, sharing Western values. The Social Democrats are a serious, articulate party, and in that we differ significantly from others in the opposition. Plenković recognizes that." He added that he knew Plenković would gladly have them as coalition partners and that he was receiving information to that effect from the HDZ.
To Plenković's dismay, the Social Democrats suffered a debacle in the 2024 parliamentary elections and lost their parliamentary status. The HDZ ultimately had to negotiate a majority with the Homeland Movement. Nevertheless, in a way, the Prime Minister did form a coalition with Vidović by bringing him in as an advisor to his minister, prompting Vidović to step down from his position as president of the Social Democrats.
Interestingly, Vidović and Ćorić have not always been on good terms. In late May 2020, during the election campaign, the two clashed fiercely in the HTV studio. Vidović then stated that "the HDZ is a Titanic party that has no one to coalition with and has irreversibly lost the trust of Croatian voters," and added: "Imagine how citizens view your government, from which so many ministers have left due to suspicion of corruption."
Today, however, Vidović himself is practically part of Plenković's government, which, as it happens, is rectifying injustices from the mandate of Prime Minister Ivica Račan, to whom this long-time SDP official was a close associate. The Prime Minister also recalled a conference of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) on the introduction of the euro, where he called Vidović "a man who is a doyen of Croatian politics and whose government began Croatia's European path."
