It is good that Plenković has finally made the decision on Bradleys, his negligence could have cost the Croatian Army dearly

Finally, at the last minute, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has reached an agreement with the US side on the procurement of Bradley fighting vehicles to equip the Croatian Army.

After a few months ago he crossed out of the budget money for the procurement of the Bradley fighting vehicles and after he had to remove his incompetent Defence Minister from negotiations on the vehicles – who cared more about furnishing the flat he received from the state than about equipping the Croatian Army – Plenković is now trying to tell us that he did a great negotiating job. Indeed, he is underestimating the intelligence of everyone involved in the procurement of Bradleys and only naive people can buy his story that everything he did was a manoeuver instead of gross negligence that could have cost the Croatian Army dearly, leaving it in the long run without fighting vehicles.

We truly believe that Plenković’s decision has nothing to do with pressures and involvement by the President of the Republic who back in early November was the first to warn the public that the minister, busy furnishing his flat, had forgotten about equipment for the army and crossed the Bradleys off. Not even after the military leadership told him that the army needs Bradleys and after President Milanović publicly presented arguments why the vehicles are necessary did Plenković know what to do because he was not in the least interested in equipping the Croatian Army.

It is good for the Croatian Army that he has finally made the decision. But the state and the army are not run on an ad hoc basis and depending on whether the Defence Minister cares more for home furnishings or army fighting vehicles. In conclusion, the Croatian Army will obtain quality fighting vehicles and most importantly, the President of the Republic is grateful to the US partners for patience because they had waited for the response of the Government since 2017.