Drago Prgomet talks about his ejection from MOST.
Drago Prgomet was expelled yesterday from MOST, one day after he secretly met with SDP President Zoran Milanović without the knowledge of other members of the party. “During the afternoon, I learned on the internet that I had been expelled. I tried to call MOST president Božo Petrov, but I could not reach him. There was nothing secret about my meeting with Milanović and Defence Minister Kotromanović. MOST has 19 seats in parliament, but these are independent people and they will determine the future of Croatia. They have their own minds. If someone wants to keep them under control, that would be the destruction of democracy”, Prgomet said yesterday evening, reports Index.hr and Vecernji List on November 13, 2015.
“Petrov knew about all my contacts, he knew that I talked with Milanović”, Prgomet said. “Four weeks ago, I proposed to the MOST National Council to select Petrov as the prime minister-designate and he accepted it. I will vote for him in Parliament. You enter a political game to win power and not just to sit in Parliament. To cause new elections, I cannot accept that, that would not be responsible. I would be most happy for MOST to survive, but we need to talk to both sides. I have talked with Milanović just as one member of parliament. I do not mind that, if the allegations in the media are accurate, Petrov talked with Karamarko two days ago”, Prgomet said.
The key question is does Prgomet have support from some other members of MOST? Yesterday, various rumours were circulating in the media. Some claim that at least two MOST members of parliament from Zagreb, Gordana Rusak and Irena Petrijevčanin Vuksanović would follow Prgomet, while some say there are members of MOST who have already decided to support HDZ. It is clear that not even party president Petrov is sure what all of his members will do.
In the meantime, all future members of parliament representing SDP will meet today afternoon at the party headquarters. They will sign a statement confirming their support for Milanović as the next prime minister, which Milanović will bring with him to consultations with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. Signatures will be collected from members of parliament from other coalition partners as well.
“We believe that by Monday we will have between 65 and 70 signatures. We are counting on IDS, all representatives of national minorities, Radimir Čačić, but also on HDSSB, which has two seats”, a party source said.
Minority representatives have reportedly agreed that they will act as a group during the negotiations because that would give them stronger bargaining position. Italian minority representative Furio Radin met on Wednesday with SDP President Zoran Milanović and HNS president Vesna Pusić. “We met at their invitation, and HDZ has not called me yet. We have talked about the views of their coalition on minority rights, and I will pass it on to other minority representatives. We will have a joint meeting on Monday when we will officially make the final decision”, Radin said.
Consultations between party leaders and Croatian President will probably not start next week, with the earliest date possibly being 23 November. The President said she will wait for the final results, which could come on Wednesday, 18 November, at the earliest. But, that day is the anniversary of the fall of Vukovar, and the President will on the same day travel to a conference in Istanbul. It is unlikely that the consultations would began on Friday, with Monday, 23 November, being more likely date.
