Croatian PM Plenković Last Minute Backs Out of President Milanovic's Dinner with Drunk Mayor

A strange event setting the political agenda in Croatia emerged from the tension between Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović. Prime Minister Plenković headed to the region to follow Milanović, who was expected to visit the municipality of Tordinci in the Slavonia region. However, Plenković, wishing to accompany the President as part of his duty, encountered an unexpected table. Upon receiving news that Milanović would attend a dinner initiated despite the mayor being drunk, he decided to leave the scene immediately. This decision served as an indicator that deepened the existing political polarization rather than melting the ice between the two officials.

According to the details of the event, although a dinner was planned in Tordinci despite the mayor's drunkenness, President Milanović had agreed to attend this event. Plenković and his team set off towards the location of the dinner to witness Milanović's this out-of-protocol behavior and to follow him within the framework of his official duty. However, when the news of this upcoming 'big' meeting was conveyed to Plenković, the Prime Minister immediately recalled his duties and his accompanying vehicle and hastily left the region. While about a hundred members of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) party in Slavonia were waiting for the Prime Minister, this sudden departure created great astonishment and disappointment among the party members.

It is estimated that the long-standing political tension between President Milanović and Prime Minister Plenković played a role behind this sudden decision of Prime Minister Plenković. Relations between the two leaders have been proceeding with a quite tense and mocking tone recently. Plenković's refusal to be a party to a head of state dining with a drunk local administrator, finding it 'absurd', was evaluated as a reflection of this personal rivalry. Officials reported that with an attitude that can be summarized as ''This is nonsense, I cannot attend this'', Plenković was trying to protect both state protocol and political courtesy.

This incident revealed how deepened the power struggle in Croatian politics is. The President's display of an attitude ready to partake in local-scale chaos, or rather not complying with protocol rules, was found 'unacceptable' by the Prime Minister. Plenković giving up on following Milanović to Tordinci and returning actually showed that the current government and the presidency are in a state of constantly balancing and criticizing each other. The crowded meeting and consultation expected by HDZ Party members ended before happening, while party internal sources emphasized that Plenković's decision was made 'suddenly and violently'.

As a result, while this development resembles a classic political cabaret, it points to a serious governance crisis for Croatia. The fact that the country's top two executives cannot agree even on the dinner of a drunk mayor and avoid following each other paints a worrying picture in terms of stability. Plenković returning from Slavonya on an empty stomach and dispersing the delegation proved once again how harsh political alignment is. This unfortunate incident, although featured in the press with 'funny' headlines, showed everyone how ruthless and contentious the political race in the background is.