Are we finally close to some concrete decisions from MOST?
Prime Minister and SDP president Zoran Milanović called on MOST leader Božo Petrov to become the speaker of Croatian Parliament. “I call on Božo Petrov to accept this duty, this obligation. At some point, we would expect MOST to take that responsibility, entire MOST or what remains of it. Given the fact that Petrov is its leader, we accept him and invite him to be the speaker of parliament”, Milanović said yesterday at a press conference held at SDP headquarters, reports Vecernji List on November 28, 2015.
“If Petrov does not accept this proposal, as the leader of the Croatia Is Growing coalition I will propose another person for the speakership until a new government is formed”, Milanović said. He would not give the name of that person, saying he would first wait for the response of Mr. Petrov. On the other hand, he ruled out any cooperation with the HDZ-led Patriotic Coalition. “Unfortunately, we cannot work with them, the differences are too great”, Milanović said. He added that HDZ insists that his government destroyed Croatia, which he called an insult to Croatian citizens. “Croatia is better now than when they left it in tatters”, Milanović concluded.
Božo Petrov did not want to comment on Milanović’s proposal. “That is a decision to be made by the MOST National Council and our members of parliament. We will make the decision on Saturday and Sunday”, Petrov said.
When asked what he thought about the idea, he would not give an answer. “They still have not responded to our questions, and we are not interested in positions in government. We have clearly told them this, and they keep trying to talk in the same way they have been talking for the last 20 years. It is obvious we are not talking the same language”, Petrov said. “While we are seeking consensus and want to implement reforms, others are offering us certain positions in government. But, I hope that Milanović’s proposal can lead in the direction that we are advocating the whole time”, Petrov concluded.
“Zoran Milanović first attempted to cause a rift in MOST with his secret talks, then he started blackmailing members of national minorities in order to get their support, and now he is bargaining with the position of the parliament speaker”, HDZ said in a statement. “Zoran Milanović is trying to hold on to power at all costs and by all means in order to prevent the investigation of a number of illegal activities by his government”, HDZ added.
MOST later announced that “after negotiations with HDZ and SDP, where we presented clear guidelines for the necessary reforms, we now expect the two parties to send their official written response to the proposals”. “The final deadline is Monday, 30 November. We are fully aware of the difficulty of the process that we have initiated, and which questions the long-standing practice of government which was not directed towards the betterment of Croatia. We have done our part, we have presented our program and now it is up to HDZ and SDP”, Petrov said. He added that, after they receive feedback from SDP and HDZ, they will inform the public about their next steps.
