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“Sovereignist movements are growing all over Europe, we see, and the Homeland Movement is growing on that wave,” said Bartulica.
He did not comment on his choice of vehicle.
Minister of Agriculture Josip Dabro
of Homeland Movement told RTL:
"I don't understand that gesture, at first I thought it was a joke, a mockery, but I don't know what the message is ... you should ask him.”
Days before the election, Bartulica was embroiled in a scandal when Index.hr revealed that he had purchased a €300,000 villa on the island of Prvic. According
to his declaration he and his wife earn €3,600 euros a month, which with loan repayments of €3,562 would leave them with just €38 a month to live on.
As reported by Index, Bartulica then announced on June 6 that he pays his daily living expenses with money his mother gives him.
Bartulica did refer to the revelations during his speech, claiming he had been the victim of a “dirty campaign”.
"Everything I have acquired, I have acquired in an honest way, I have nothing to apologise for,” he said.
President of Homeland Movement Ivan Penava also talked of a dirty campaign.
Despite this he said, “We confirmed our status as the third force in Croatia.”
Final results for the election put Homeland Movement in third place with 8.82% of the vote, after the senior ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In Croatia, Homeland Movement is the junior partner of the HDZ, but is positioned further to the right of its partner. It is not yet known whether Homeland Movement will opt to join the rightwing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) or the more extreme Identity & Democracy (I&D) group in the European Parliament.
Kosovo’s new Tony Blair statue mocked for likeness to ex-Neighbours actor
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
As Kosovo commemorated the 25th anniversary of its liberation from former Yugoslavia on June 12, a statue of former British prime minister Tony Blair, a key figure during the Nato operation that ended the 1998-99 war, was unveiled in the city of Ferizaj.
The statue was intended to honour Blair, but in the days since its unveiling pictures have been widely shared on social media with users commenting on its uncanny likeness to Australian actor Jason Donovan, best known for his role in the soap Neighbours.
One wrote on social networks, "That's Jason Donovan..."
The statue, crafted by sculptor Agon Qosa, stands in Blair's eponymous square adjacent to Martyrs' Square, symbolising his legacy intertwined with Kosovo's liberation history.
“Among foreigners he [Tony Blair] is the most welcomed person among us. With this joy, we decided to erect this statue," Qosa said.
During the unveiling ceremony, Agim Aliu, the mayor of Ferizaj, described the newly erected statue of Blair as a symbol of Kosovo's enduring freedom and pride, Kosova Press reported.
Former British press secretary Alastair Campbell took to X network to comment on the unveiling of Blair's statue in Kosovo. He remarked: “Statue of Tony Blair unveiled in Kosovo ... not sure where if anywhere statues will be raised to any of the five PMs who have taken our country backwards in the last 14 years.”
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, during a meeting with Blair on June 10, acknowledged his pivotal role in Kosovo's history.
Blair visited Pristina on June 10, just two days before the unveiling ceremony, the day marking the 25th anniversary of the withdrawal of Serbian forces, which occurred after a 78-day Nato bombing campaign that concluded the conflict between Serbian forces and fighters from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
“His legacy echoes through time and generations. Sir Tony Blair, a champion of our freedom,” Osmani stated on X network.
During the visit, Osmani gifted a crystal stone to Blair. “A crystal stone for the great friend of Kosovo Tony Blair, in continuation of the tradition of the Historic President Dr. Ibrahim Rugova,” she said.
During a speech delivered at the parliament of Kosovo on June 10, Blair expressed his pride in advocating for the small country’s liberation.
"It's a great honour to be here today, and I'm deeply grateful for your hospitality. On this day, an agreement was reached to free Kosovo from invading forces. Kosovo finally regained its freedom. Its people could once again dare to dream and hope," Blair remarked.
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