Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic says in an interview with the Vecernji List daily that the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) positions itself firmly as a centre-right party that enables the highest number of the citizens to be gathered around the values of patriotism and Christian Democratic values.

Plenkovic said in the interview published on Saturday that the HDZ would first complete the ongoing process of the intra-party elections and that it would embark on preparations for the parliamentary elections so as to clinch one more victory.

As for the counter-candidate for the HDZ presidency, Miro Kovac and his team, Plenkovic describes them as people pursuing alternative policies without any potential for coalitions.

Upon the completion of the elections in the HDZ, we will search for (coalition) partners on the ground of their programmes and worldviews, the premier and the HDZ leader says.

He went on to say that the HDZ and Croatia's leadership “will be stakeholders and we will not push Croatia into isolationism.”

Croatia's sovereignty can be bolstered by the country's stronger position in the European Union and by exerting its influence on regional, European and global developments, he explained.

In this context, Plenkovic also gave an overview of the activities Zagreb is taking during the Croatian presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2020.

He promised the committed work on the issues crucial for the Croatian state: the demographic revitalisation, economic growth, balanced development of the country, making the judiciary more efficient.