Anusic on Serbia's New Government and Zagrepcanka

Serbia is still waiting for a government to be formed after the October 25 election, in which the Student List won a majority of seats and Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat. In Zagreb, meanwhile, lawmakers are already asking what the new authorities mean for relations between the two countries. The question reached the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) on Tuesday, November 10, and Defense Minister Ivan Anusic (HDZ) answered it: Croatia will keep investing in its army no matter who governs in Belgrade.

What did the MP ask, and how did the minister answer?

HDZ MP Tomislav Josic told the Sabor that Serbia’s new leadership has not broken with the attitude toward Croatia held by Aleksandar Vucic’s government, and asked the minister whether the country would continue to invest in its armed forces. Anusic said it would, whatever happens next door:

“We will invest in the army regardless of Serbia, we are a NATO member and our priority is the security of our citizens. As for Serbia, we should not pay attention to it and we must work on protecting Croatia, and that means a strong and powerful armed force.”

The minister then added a conclusion: “A strong and powerful armed force is a precondition of security.” According to reports by the Croatian portals Index.hr and Dnevno.hr, he also invoked the 1990s, saying Croatia was defended back then precisely by its army and should be protected the same way now.

Zagrepcanka and the rhetoric of the 1990s

The part of his address that drew the most attention concerned Serbian weaponry. By his account, these are missiles of a kind no other European country has, and he singled out the way they have been named in Serbia:

“Serbia is the only European country that has hypersonic missiles of that range, and they have named them ‘Zagrepcanka’, which has alarmed us. I hope the new government will distance itself from such rhetoric and from the rhetoric of the 1990s.”

The name “Zagrepcanka” (roughly “the woman from Zagreb”) comes from Serbian tabloids, not from official nomenclature. According to Dnevno.hr, the weapon is the Chinese CM-400AKG air-to-ground missile, two of which were seen earlier this year on a MiG-29SM+ fighter of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defense. The same portal spoke with military analyst Marinko Ogorec, who said: “Of course we should take this as a message, a threat.” Ogorec judged that Croatia has no system capable of stopping such a missile and recommended that the government strengthen the armed forces, increase their numbers and acquire multilayered air defense. Those claims are the analyst’s assessment, not data confirmed by the authorities of either country.

The minister on Serbian messages: “What worries me is what we do”

Anusic closed his remarks with lines that seem to weigh how much he cares about what comes out of Serbia:

“Honestly, I do not care how they behave and what political message they send. What worries me is what we do.”

This is not the first time such a message has come from Zagreb. Earlier, during a visit to the United States in early November, Anusic said the new Serbian government must distance itself from the politics of the 1990s. The statement in the Sabor therefore continues the same line rather than marking a shift.

What stays open for Belgrade

There is no government yet that could respond to these words, so they read as a message sent in advance, before it is known who will sit in the ministerial chairs in Belgrade and what tone they will take toward Zagreb. The Croatian portals’ reports on the session include no response from the Serbian side. Once a government is formed, its first public moves toward Zagreb will show whether the distancing the minister asked for will come, or whether the rhetoric he criticized will stay in circulation.