Croats in Serbia lose ministerial seat

The President of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV), Tomislav Žigmanov, stated that his two ministerial terms were the greatest achievement in the political participation of the Croatian community in Serbia and that even after stepping down from the position, he would remain committed to strengthening their institutional presence, CE Report quotes HINA.

“Holding the ministerial post in the Government of the Republic of Serbia for two terms by the political leader of DSHV is probably the greatest achievement in the political participation of the Croatian community since the beginning of democratic changes in 1990,” Žigmanov said.

According to him, this opportunity was used to strongly deconstruct, in the broader Serbian public—not only politically—the image of Croats as disloyal citizens and of DSHV as a non-autonomous political entity that is merely an instrument of Zagreb.

He emphasized that he had carried out his long-standing political engagement and the knowledge and skills he had acquired in the best possible way, and in that context, he thanked Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for the trust shown, which, he added, had not been betrayed.

“In this way, we have significantly eased the position of the Croatian community on the domestic political scene. The ministerial position led to reduced fear and increased courage and willingness for social activism among Croats,” Žigmanov said.

According to him, even during times when anti-Croatian rhetoric became more frequent in the public sphere, there were no serious anti-Croatian incidents or direct attacks on Croats, their institutions, organizations, or churches.

Žigmanov also stated that the end of his ministerial term would not mark the end of his fight for equality and true justice for Croats in the Republic of Serbia.

“There is still a lot of work to be done in this area, especially concerning the development of minority institutional infrastructure (e.g., Drama in Croatian, Croatian School Center...) and participation in decision-making processes at the local government level,” the DSHV leader said.

He added that these efforts would be more effective if institutions were strengthened and responsible policies developed—“policies that exclude adventurism”—and if a culture of consultation and agreed practices in political action continued to develop.

The candidate for the new Serbian government, Đuro Macut, submitted his cabinet proposal to the Serbian Parliament. Among the 30 proposed members of the future government, there are no longer any representatives of the Croatian community.

Žigmanov served from 2022 as Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue in Serbia’s government, across two terms.

Part of the party leadership criticized him for attending talks with Aleksandar Vučić regarding the new Serbian government—where he ultimately was not nominated—without consulting his closest associates in DSHV.

This prompted a request for an extraordinary session of the party council, and DSHV deputy leader Goran Kaurić earlier stated that the party should elect new leadership during this year’s internal elections.