Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić is next in the opposition’s crosshairs.
SDP will launch an initiative for the motion of no confidence against Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić due to conflict of interest in the Agrokor case, SDP’s presidency will prepare for the possibility of elections, and the party is ready to assume responsibility for Croatia at any time, SDP president Davor Bernardić said after a meeting of the party presidency, reports N1 on April 30, 2017.
The SDP presidency has decided to try to recall Dalić due to the evident conflict of interest, because private law firms are writing the laws for the government, Bernardić said.
According to the allegations of the opposition, the so-called “Lex Agrokor” was allegedly partly written by the Šavorić law firm, which is connected with VTB bank, one of the Agrokor’s largest creditors, which the opposition claims is an evident conflict of interest. “This is a government of conflict, of interest, and of conflict of interest. That is an indispensable part of their identification,” Bernardić said.
Asked if SDP would initiate a motion of no confidence against the entire government, Bernardić did not respond, saying that SDP had begun the proceedings against the Deputy Prime Minister. The procedure for collecting the MPs’ signatures needed for the motion to be formally launched will be started in the next few days.
He also said that the SDP presidency was ready for possible parliamentary elections and that SDP was ready at all times to assume responsibility for Croatia. “We are launching strategic negotiations with our coalition partners, primarily with HSS and HSU, signatories of the Declaration on Good Society, and then with other parties of the former National Coalition – HNS and even IDS,” he said.
Asked whether he was in contact with MOST leader Božo Petrov, he said that they “spoke two days before the political instability which was caused by Prime Minister Plenković.” “We talked about the technical details, and he told me that the next week’s parliamentary agenda would include a debate on Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, who is obviously in a conflict of interest,” Bernardić said.
Bernardić was also asked about unofficial statements from HNS that they would not enter into another strategic alliance with SDP. He replied that “it is important that we first launch strategic negotiations with the signatories of the Declaration on Good Society.”
Asked whether the opposition had enough votes for a dismissal of Finance Minister Zdravko Marić next week in the Parliament, Bernardić said that “it is less important for Croatia whether there are enough votes for Marić’s recall. What is more important is that the government is in a clear conflict of interest.”
Responding to SDP’s allegations, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić said that her interest was the preservation of the stability of the Croatian economy. “This government, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, has stopped Agrokor’s owner Ivica Todorić. The interests of this government and me personally are deeply opposed to the interests of Ivica Todorić,” Dalić said. Therefore, she added, there is a question of why SDP protects Ivica Todorić’s interests, why SDP is trying to jeopardize the process of business stabilization in Agrokor.
