ZAGREB, July 1, 2019 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Brussels on Sunday that he would meet his coalition partners to discuss a demand by the Croatian People’s Party (HNS) for the dismissal of Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević.
“I will meet the coalition partners whenever necessary. I guess the public and voters know me so well by know that they are aware that if there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s ultimatums,” Plenković said in response to questions from the press.
The deputy leader of the HNS, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, and Deputy Prime Minister, Predrag Štromar, said on Sunday that the HNS wanted a meeting with Plenković to propose the dismissal of Minister Kuščević because he had used his political position to amass wealth for himself.
Minister Kuščević has come under severe criticism from the media after it emerged that he was involved in a string of property-related scandals during his term as mayor of Nerežišća on the southern island of Brač.
Also on Sunday, Milorad Pupovac, the leader of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), also a member of the ruling coalition, said the government should not carry the burden associated with Minister Kuščević and that the coalition should not fall apart because of this problem.
“I repeat once again, the burden connected with Minister Kuščević weighs on the coalition and the government. We shouldn’t be carrying this burden,” Pupovac told the RTL commercial television channel.
Speaking of the HNS’s demand for Kuščević’s dismissal, Pupovac said he did not think it was an ultimatum. “None of us generally functions by setting ultimatums,” he said.
More news about Minister Kuščević can be found in the Politics section.
