Dubrovnik Mayor Slams Political Rival Over Past Statements on City and Pelješac Bridge

A heated political exchange has erupted in Croatia, with HDZ lawmaker and Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković launching a strong counterattack against Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, the head of the SDP party.

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This is a man who called Dubrovnik, a city under UNESCO protection, a city that is an international symbol of Croatia, a chicken coop. He said, on camera, that we will not build a highway to every chicken coop.

The verbal sparring began after Hajdaš Dončić defended Sandra Benčić of the Možemo! party and accused Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of feigning distress. Franković responded by dissecting Hajdaš Dončić's political record, labeling it a "catalog of damage inflicted upon this country and its citizens."

Franković specifically cited controversial statements made by Hajdaš Dončić during his tenure as Minister of the Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure. He reminded the public that Hajdaš Dončić once referred to Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as a "chicken coop" and questioned the construction of highways to such places. Franković also highlighted Hajdaš Dončić's alleged illegal concession award to Marina Gruž, which he claims caused permanent damage to both Dubrovnik and the state budget. Furthermore, Franković accused Hajdaš Dončić of attempting to transfer the management of the strategic Dubrovnik port to a foreign consortium.

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The bridge stands today. Thousands of citizens cross the bridge every day. This statement cannot be withdrawn, erased, or reinterpreted.

Franković challenged Hajdaš Dončić to a public debate in Dubrovnik, suggesting the SDP leader lacks the courage and knowledge to engage. The mayor emphasized that Hajdaš Dončić's past remarks, particularly his dismissal of the Pelješac Bridge project as an "illusion for fools," cannot be erased or reinterpreted, especially as the bridge now stands and serves thousands of citizens daily.

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Siniša Hajdaš Dončić asks for souls. Let's remind him of his own. Siniša Hajdaš Dončić today publicly calls out and demands responsibility, shame, and soul pain from others. The man who wrote this is the same man whose political biography is a catalog of damage inflicted upon this country and its citizens.