ZAGREB, December 15, 2018 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Friday strongly dismissed accusations that he was involved in “the political game”, or political horse-trading, that facilitated the adoption of the Zagreb city budget for 2019 on Thursday.
“I dismiss the accusations… this is now happening on a daily basis, it could almost be a topic here at the European Council, which also discussed disinformation,” Plenković said in Brussels where he was attending a two-day summit of EU leaders.
The summit discussed, among other topics, the fight against disinformation campaigns in order to ensure, among other things, fair elections for the European Parliament next spring.
The necessary majority to vote in the Zagreb city budget was secured by three members of opposition parties in the city assembly, who voted for Mayor Milan Bandić’s budget proposal even though their parties had decided not to support it. The budget was passed by a two-vote margin.
The three City Assembly members, who tipped the balance in favour of Bandić, were expelled from their respective parties amid accusations that they supported the budget in exchange for personal benefits.
Pointing the finger at Mayor Bandić and Prime Minister Plenković, the opposition said that this was a political trade-off and mutual securing of the majority in the national parliament and the city assembly.
Plenković also commented on the resignation of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović’s advisor on national security, Vlado Galić, and speculation that another of her advisors, Mate Radeljić, would leave in January as well.
“The President chose her advisors on her own, I presume that she also makes decisions to relieve them of duty or accept their resignations on her own,” he said when asked if those officials had become a burden to Grabar-Kitarović considering that they were being mentioned in the context of the fake text message scandal, and whether the HDZ had made its support to Grabar-Kitarović’s campaign for the next presidential term conditional on their departure.
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