Josip Jurcevic, a Croatian historian and professor at Croatian Studies, who was characterised as the ‘new voice of the Croatian right’ a few years ago, has announced his candidature for president of Croatia this week.
Aware that political parties can use money and power for more media space, Jurcevic is hoping that using a new model of pre-campaigning will enable him to be the joint independent national candidate for the president’s office.
‘Campaign will not have megalomania concept’
He was born in 1951 in Studenci, in the electorate of Imotski. Since the beginning of his primary school, he has constantly been living in Zagreb. He is married and is the father of seven children. He is a religious Roman Catholic. He finished primary school, high school and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (history and philosophy courses) in Zagreb. He gained his master’s degree at the same faculty with the thesis topic ‘Problems of Studying the Victims of World War II in Croatia’. He gained his PhD in 2000 with the thesis topic ‘Repressiveness of the Yugoslav System in Croatia in 1945’. He worked as a scientific associate at the institute for social sciences “Ivo Pilar”.
He explained that he based his model of pre-campaigning at independent candidate gatherings in 20 counties in Croatia, the city of Zagreb, one place in Bosnia Herzegovina and one place in the Croatian Diaspora.
“At the gatherings, every candidate would propose a program, and the citizens would vote. With monitoring of course. The candidate that gains the most votes would be the joint national presidential candidate, whilst the others would remain a part of the team. This would guarantee that the votes will not be spread around. In this way that candidate is the joint independent candidate, and not of the interest groups. This would also save in marketing.
This model could also be adapted for the parliamentary elections” said Jurcevic for Javno.com.
He intends on financing his campaign with donations from the citizens, and not with large donations whose source is often questionable.
“This is the most common problem with large donations. My campaign will not have a megalomaniac concept, already adapted to the current situation, but strong enough. I will be present enough in Croatia and I expect to be recognized” said Jurcevic. He added that his candidature was a logical path.
‘Party support would be harmful, nor do I want it’
During the Croatian Spring (1970-1971), he was a member of the University board of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. In 1990 he participated in the discovery and public presentation of wartime (and after war) victims in the Jazovka pit, and in the foundation of the Croatian society for investigating the victims of war and after the war. From 1994 to 1997 he was employed as an independent advisor in the Croatian Parliament (Commission for Determining war and after-war victims) and from 1997 he has been an employee in the Institute for Social Sciences ‘Ivo Pilar’. He is the author of three books, and the co-author or author of works in 25 other books. He has published 27 scientific and expert works. He is the co-author of school textbooks, workbooks and 8th grade teacher’s guides. In 2004 he was a member of the Croatian Cabinet council for preparing friends of the court before the International Criminal Tribune for the Former Yugoslavia.
“The preparations for candidature lasted. Considering my actions in civil and other areas of social life, it was a logical path. In the situation that we are in we need to get to deeper changes. There must be expert, moral and socially educated people. You do not become the Croatian president by becoming elected for the duty, but with the responsible and practical carrying out of the presidential duties, in accordance to the constitutional and legal powers” said Jurcevic.
Even though he is an independent candidate without the help of any party, Jurcevic said that he does not want the support, because he considers that it would only harm him, whilst the model of pre-campaigning for independent candidates that he proposes would greatly help him at the upcoming elections.
“Parties have obviously lost the faith of the citizens. On Facebook there are spontaneous groups being created with tens of thousands of citizens that are complaining about the current used politicians and are voicing their disgust. They can use the media, power and money, but the pre-campaigns are the path to the joint national presidential candidate. There is no need for party support. My support are the Croatian citizens and it is obvious at the gatherings that I was present at. The support was massive thanks to the consistency of my work” said Jurcevic for Javno.com.
Primjedbe