HDZ Reportedly Gives Ultimatum to MOST

Total Croatia News

MOST leader Božo Petrov rejects the demands.

Tomislav Karamarko reportedly demands dismissals in the Interior Ministry and the removal of SDP personnel who are still in leadership positions in the police. That is one of his demands in an ultimatum with HDZ gave to MOST during a meeting of their leaders on Thursday, reports Večernji List on May 7, 2016.

In other words, HDZ is ready to bring down the government if the leadership positions in the police and the PNUSKOK (Police Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime) are not staffed with people whom HDZ, and not just MOST, considers to be competent.

The ultimatum was reportedly delivered by HDZ president and First Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko on Thursday during a meeting of the leaderships of HDZ and MOST that was supposed to be their regular coordinating meeting. Karamarko also mentioned the issue of INA and the arbitration proceedings between Croatia and the Hungarian company MOL, which is a partial owner of the Croatian largest oil and gas company.

It is obvious that Karamarko and HDZ are preparing to better position HDZ within the government as the largest party in the ruling coalition, and that process should intensify after the party congress on 28 May. If HDZ does not succeed in achieving a stronger political position, it seems new elections will be unavoidable. According to sources, Karamarko will no longer tolerate that he, as the First Deputy Prime Minister for internal affairs and national security, has no influence in the police and secret services.

“The appointment of Daniel Markić as the new director of the Security Intelligence Agency ‘dismantled’ the secret service, and Karamarko will not allow any more experiments in the police. Although he worked for years in the Ministry of Interior and the secret services, now he is being lectured by people who have nothing to do with this area”, said HDZ sources. HDZ believes that Interior Minister Vlaho Orepić (MOST) should have resigned after the robbery of the police headquarters in Zagreb, and finds it remarkable that Mario Bertina, the dismissed chief of PNUSKOK, has allegedly been given the task to reorganize it.

MOST says that they consider Karamarko’s ultimatum to be a blackmail and add that they will not accept his demands. MOST explains that HDZ wants to name its people to the leading posts in the Police Directorate and PNUSKOK.

It is ridiculous that one side is giving ultimatums to the other side. They should not have signed the cooperation agreement if they thought they could behave in such a way, said MOST leader and Deputy Prime Minister Božo Petrov. His message to Karamarko was clear: MOST will never agree to this.

 

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