Zlatko Lagumdžija: Nothing Will Be the Same in the SDP from Today

Zlatko Lagumdžija, president of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDP), who has been at the helm of this party for a full 17 years, addressed the extraordinary congress of the SDP, which is being held today in Sarajevo, reports a reporter from the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Delegates of the SDP BiH, 560 of them from across the country, are convening today at the party's extraordinary congress in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the party suffered an electoral collapse in the General Elections in BiH on October 12. At the party's extraordinary congress, delegates will elect a new president and a new party leadership.

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Lagumdžija was greeted with a big round of applause, and in his speech to the delegates he repeatedly used metaphors.

- Today we face several important decisions. I am obliged to say something about that, and first I will say something about the agreement and unification with the Union of Social Democrats. That agreement was accepted by a large majority of votes. Some were not in favor, because they have been unnecessarily hitting me for years, but I say that this shows something else - said Lagumdžija.

He noted that the party's extraordinary congress is actually a congress about the path traveled and the search for a new path.

- A person's true character is shown in defeat. That was seen on election night. An old saying goes that victory has a thousand friends, but defeat is an orphan. Nothing brings people together like misfortune. I am here to tell you that there are people who will never be defeated. The defeat behind us occurred because many of our people did not believe in victory. As the captain of the ship, I, the president of the SDP, Zlatko Lagumdžija, accept my responsibility. Each of you, both as a crew member and as a passenger, has your place - said Lagumdžija.

Also, Lagumdžija added that sometimes they even defeated themselves.

- I do not regret giving everyone a chance even though I did not know who they were. To anyone who has ambitions to act in the SDP, I advise not to go into it if they are not ready to receive low blows and harsh words. This applies to all levels of the SDP. I am guilty, in quotation marks, and some think even without quotation marks, for refusing 15 years ago to be the leader of the Bosniak SDP. I am also guilty for opposing the OHR so that the parties would not get BH Telecom and Eronet, guilty for not allowing four years ago to divide BiH and give Mostar the role of the Croatian capital city - said Lagumdžija, among other things.

He emphasized that he did not support the HBHZ either and silently bowed to the creation of a Bosnian Gaza.

- I also refused the division of BiH into three electoral units. I am guilty that we are not a democratic party so we lost, but many forget that with the same Statute we won in 2010. I am in favor of it being upgraded. Pitiful are those members of the leadership who participated in making some decisions, and now act as if they never heard of them. I ask myself whether I should have punished those who removed people behind my name, and now I see that there were such - added Lagumdžija.

During his speech, Lagumdžija was close to tears in some parts, and his emotional speech received applause several times.

- Some after defeat look for ways to sell themselves to the winners. Three years ago, I announced that I would no longer run for president of the SDP. This time, I did not get involved even in making the list. I wish success in the work of the new leadership, and I myself will try to show that every member must be heard. Those who hoped that "everything is the same, just without him" will remain disappointed. Everything will be different, but I will still be here - added Lagumdžija.