Plenković's Empty Chair at Alka Sparks Controversy
Journalist Marko Ljubić sharply criticizes the PM's absence from the winner's proclamation, while media and HDZ focus on Mayor Miro Bulj's empty chair.
Journalist Marko Ljubić sharply criticizes the PM's absence from the winner's proclamation, while media and HDZ focus on Mayor Miro Bulj's empty chair.
The holding of the 311th Sinjska Alka, where winner Tino Radanović celebrated with 12 punata, sparked a heated debate focused less on the victor himself and more on the empty chairs in the ceremonial box. While much of the public and media attention centered on the absence of Sinj's mayor, Miro Bulj, journalist and publicist Marko Ljubić warns that a far more significant detail went almost entirely unnoticed.
In a lengthy social media post on August 10, 2026, Ljubić pointed out that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had watched the Alka competition from the ceremonial box for over three hours, but at the crucial moment-during the winner's proclamation ceremony-he was not in his seat. "An empty chair remained between Dragan Čović and Borjana Krišto throughout the entire proclamation and victory celebration," Ljubić wrote, adding that this is precisely the moment for which the Alka is held.
Ljubić believes that the Prime Minister's absence from the proclamation of the winner is politically and symbolically incomparably more significant than the absence of an opposition mayor. "Bulj is Bulj. The opposition is the opposition; they are what they are. But the government is not just the government-it is the state authority," he said, emphasizing the difference in responsibility.
He particularly criticized the HDZ's reaction, which he was informed had called Bulj's act "an unprecedented act of disrespect towards the Alka," while, he claims, there is silence about Plenković's empty chair. "And they talk about Miro Bulj's empty chair!?" he asked ironically.
The day after the Alka, on August 10, Prime Minister Plenković posted a congratulatory message on his Twitter profile. "In Sinj, we attended the 311th Sinjska Alka. Heartfelt congratulations to this year's winner, Tino Radanović, on his brilliant performance and victory with 12 punata," he wrote, emphasizing that the Alka "has preserved the tradition, culture, and identity of the Cetina region for over three centuries."
The Government of the Republic of Croatia also retweeted congratulations to Radanović and thanked the Sinj Knightly Alka Society for the organization, but none of these posts addressed the controversy over the empty chairs.
In his post, Ljubić goes a step further, linking Plenković's action to the broader political context. "What does an empty chair and shown disrespect towards the victory and the winner, a tradition 311 years long, and the Croatian people say about a man who holds the greatest political power in the country!? What is such a man capable of!?" he asks.
He also touched on the relationship with Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ironically suggesting possible excuses that might follow: "Will he announce that he had an urgent state call, that Zelensky called him, or that Croatia is under a missile attack?" He described the entire situation and media coverage as "shameful," "unprecedented," and "dangerous."
