10 days is a long time in Croatian politics.
Former Veterans Affairs Minister Mijo Crnoja will have to explain to the State Attorney’s Office the circumstances under which he was allocated a plot of land in Samobor, where he had a permanent residence officially registered. Croatian Television confirmed on February 8, 2016 that the State Attorney’s Office is undertaking activities in order to determine the relevant facts about the case and see whether any crimes were committed. This also includes a possible illegal registration of official permanent place of residence in Samobor, which would mean that Crnoja illegally avoided paying a local tax surcharge of 18 percent in Zagreb.
Crnoja said that he was registered at the false address because it was supposed to make it easier for him to get all the necessary documents to build a house on the location. A preferential loan of 56,000 euros, which he received as a veteran of the Homeland War and which he legally had to spend on building a house, he instead deposited in a bank.
Ten days ago, Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković said that Crnoja, as a war veteran, deserved all the attention that the government had given him during the two days of discussions about his fate and noted that they had asked for the opinion of experts who reviewed all the necessary documents.
Crnoja eventually resigned on 28 January, after only six days as a minister, saying he did not want to be a burden to the government. His six-day ministerial term is the shortest in Croatian history since gaining independence.
First Deputy Prime Minister and HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko concluded that the final decision was made due to the unprecedented media campaign against Crnoja. He said that Crnoja was leaving his post with his honour untouched. He added that this opinion was backed by the assessment of independent legal experts.
Later it was discovered that the independent legal experts in question were private attorneys Čedo Prodanović and Jadranka Sloković, who spent hours analyzing the documents regarding Crnoja, which made them miss the trial of their other client, former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, which then had to be delayed. Government spokeswoman Sunčana Glavak later confirmed that the two attorneys were not paid for their services.
