Page 50 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine October 2024

50 I Southeast Europe bne October 2024
Croatian President Zoran Milanović at a recent event marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of the 20th Home Guard Regiment in Glina. / predsjednik.hr
Croatian president in new row with government for using army helicopter “like a taxi”
that 90 flights were made using Black Hawk helicopters, 120 with Mi-8 MTV helicopters and 138 with Mi-171 Sh helicopters, all of which accumulated significant expenses.
The Office of the President, however, pushed back on these figures, reporting that Milanovic had used a military helicopter only 74 times and a military ship eight times since February 2020, with fuel costs amounting to €127,000 for the Croatian Air Force and €22,800 for the Croatian Navy. A statement from Milanovic’s office described additional claims as "manipulations" and "completely inaccurate data”.
In response, Anusic argued that the
fuel costs represented only a portion of the total expense, saying that the use
of military resources for the president’s travels diverted personnel and equipment from essential military training.
In his latest comment on the issue on September 3, Anusic challenged Milanovic’s account, saying that 348 helicopter flights had been made in response to the 74 orders from the presidency.
“[A]s the Minister of Defence I am responsible for the transparent spending of money and resources of the Armed Forces ... In my opinion, that is too much, the cost is over €1mn," he said, according to a government statement.
He called again for Milanovic to publish a report on where he flew in Armed Forces helicopters and what state affairs he did.
As the row intensified, Plenkovic accused Milanovic of treating military resources like a personal taxi service.
bne IntelliNews
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is facing a backlash over his use
of military helicopters, igniting
a fresh political conflict with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s government. The issue, which has sparked a debate about the misuse of military resources, comes as the Ministry of Defense estimates the flights have cost taxpayers at least €1mn.
The row is the latest in a series of stand-offs between Milanovic, backed by the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD), and Plenkovic’s ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
The acrimonious relationship between Milanovic and the government has intensified as the December presidential approaches. That will pit Milanovic, who is seeking re-election, against the HDZ’s candidate Dragan Primorac.
The controversy escalated after reports surfaced that Milanovic had flown
www.bne.eu
military helicopters 348 times during his presidency, including to popular destinations such as Hvar and Brijuni.
Defence Minister Ivan Anusic criticised the president's frequent use of military resources, and claimed the president "misled the public and made untrue claims" regarding his use of these aircraft.
According to Anusic, the 348 flights, totalling 241 flight hours, were conducted at Milanovic’s request, at a cost of at least €1mn. He detailed
“Croatia did not buy Black Hawk helicopters to use them like a taxi. I do not see any of the rest of us using the army’s resources so nonchalantly”