Zagreb - The Deputy Club of national minorities has nominated Armin Hodžić for Deputy Speaker of the Croatian parliament, while MPs also discussed during Wednesday's debate his family connection to a union leader involved in the recent strike at Zagreb Holding and ZET.
"His election would send a historic, inclusive message, making him the first Deputy Speaker from the Bosniak national minority and the youngest in the history of modern Croatian parliamentarism," said Deputy Club Chairman Vladimir Bilek.
In addition to representing the Bosniak minority, Hodžić represents the Albanian, Slovenian, Montenegrin and Macedonian minorities. Bilek said his election would be "a step forward at a time when society and politics urgently need constructive dialogue, fresh energy and mutual respect".
Serbian minority MP Milorad Pupovac supports the nomination, saying Hodžić has the political gravitas to moderate debates, even in challenging circumstances.
"The fact that his father was active in the union disputes now behind us has been used to suggest some higher or deeper meaning. It is vital not to attach implications to this that could fuel anti-minority sentiment," Pupovac warned.
He was referring to the major strike by Zagreb Holding and ZET workers in late September, which also involved staff from the Čistoća waste management division. Its union is led by Hodžić's father Mumin Hodžić, who rejected claims that the strike was politically motivated. "The workers alone are behind the strike, as their signatures have shown," he said at the time.
Dalija Orešković (DOSIP) argued that Armin Hodžić was not an "innocent victim of political circumstances".
"Given the announcements of his election, at a time when it was clear that the HDZ was attacking the capital by organising a strike, I cannot agree that Armin Hodžić is an innocent victim of political circumstances with which he has no connection," she said.
Orešković also questioned whether MPs were really creating "anti-minority sentiment", given that the governing majority includes Roma minority MP Veljko Kajtazi and Homeland Movement MP Josip Dabro, who sings in praise of Ustasha leader Ante Pavelić.
"Your voice was trembling because you do not believe what you are saying," Hodžić replied. He accused Orešković of seeking media coverage and likes on Facebook and Instagram, claiming she had no political infrastructure, party or parliamentary group of her own.
He also accused her of spreading unverified and false information, warning that this could have dangerous consequences.
"The concept of an all-powerful minority is well known in Europe and has exacted a heavy price from many minorities. Thankfully, you cannot know that experience. Under this concept, two Bosnian men organise a strike in Zagreb and paralyse Croatia's capital," the Bosniak minority MP added.
Pupovac said he had spent 30 years hearing the far right portray him as the "master and ruler of Croatia". Bilek added that strikes were a legitimate form of trade union action, regardless of whether the opposing party was the government or the City of Zagreb.