Political analyst Žarko Puhovski sharply criticized the conduct of the Environment Committee session in Gospić, stating that the opposition was not up to the task, while HDZ manipulated by concealing the scale of the hazardous waste problem.
Political analyst Žarko Puhovski sharply criticized both the opposition and HDZ following the failed session of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Nature in Gospić, convened due to nearly 45,000 tons of illegally imported waste, much of it hazardous, threatening water and soil in Lika. The session was adjourned on Monday, August 17, 2026, after representatives of the citizens' initiative walked out, and the Committee's chair, Dušica Radojčić, an MP from the Možemo! party, suspended the proceedings.
Speaking to N1 HR, Puhovski said there were two intentions at the session: "Some wanted to defend the government, while others wanted to embarrass it. The situation is such that those who wanted to embarrass the government are closer to the needs and demands of the people living in Gospić." He described the conduct of the session as shamefully poor.
"We have a committee chair who is not capable of leading even an hour of a homeroom class. In Gospić, she was unable to put the agenda to a vote in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, which her deputy (Željko Lacković, note) exploited with a macho right-wing intervention, simply taking over the session, so we had a situation where two people had their microphones on at the same time," Puhovski said. He added that the opposition in Gospić proved to be below the technical level of political life, and HDZ used this to continue manipulating in order to conceal the full extent of the waste problem.
Asked whether a more constructive debate could be held at an extraordinary session of Parliament, Puhovski warned that the ruling party is conflating the current situation with what is to come. "It is almost certain that today you can drink water in Gospić without it being dangerous. However, as all experts say, the period is from six months to five years (before the toxins threaten the water, note), and no one has yet provided an answer to that," he stressed. The problem, he said, will affect multiple generations, not only in Lika but also the Adriatic.
Puhovski believes that the extraordinary session should urgently adopt at least minimal measures for waste remediation, establish a crisis headquarters and a parliamentary committee to oversee it, and only then discuss the government's dismissal. He particularly criticized the behavior of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who, as he said, "allowed himself to say that he would decide on the appointment of a new chief state inspector when he so wishes." He recalled that the former chief state inspector, Andrija Mikulić, was dismissed precisely because of the events in Gospić.
He deemed it crucial to insist at the session on the Environmental Protection Act, which in cases of special urgency allows action even when not all scientific results are known. "That is what we must insist on," he said. Puhovski added that "the left must swallow its pride and understand that without someone from the right, or at least representatives of national minorities, it cannot achieve this."
President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, submitted a request for an extraordinary session of the Croatian Parliament on this topic. The Speaker's Office soon announced that the session would be held on Thursday and Friday, August 20 and 21. Puhovski noted that Croatia has a constitutional provision for an extraordinary session of parliament, making it one of only two or three countries in Europe with such a mechanism.
Meanwhile, HDZ reacted via social media. Ante Sanader, president of the HDZ parliamentary group, said they look forward to the extraordinary session because it will be an opportunity for "citizens to hear the truth once again" and to "refute the lies deliberately spread by the political opposition." According to Sanader, yesterday's committee session was used by the left for a "coordinated performance without any desire to genuinely help fellow citizens."
The Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) announced that water quality monitoring for human consumption continues in the Lika-Senj County area. In samples taken on August 13, 2026, PFAS compounds were not detected, i.e., concentrations were below the limit of quantification. Of the 22 samples tested, 21 were assessed as compliant with prescribed values, while only one sample, taken from a tap in a private building, was non-compliant due to elevated lead concentration. HZJZ emphasizes that elevated lead concentrations are not related to water from the public water supply system but to the internal installations of the building.
