The new government is almost a week old, and the case of Mijo Crnoja is already causing division.
After 11 hours of deliberation, Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković and Deputy Prime Ministers Tomislav Karamarko and Božo Petrov have failed to decide whether Veterans Affairs Minister Mijo Crnoja will remain as a minister or will be dismissed. The meeting ended after 1 am this morning and will continue later today, reports Novilist and Index.hr on January 27, 2016.
During the meeting, they analyzed legal documents, consulted government lawyers, and decided that before the final decision they will ask for the opinion of outside experts in order to determine whether Crnoja has done something illegal. Crnoja will not take part in the first official meeting of the new government which will take place this morning. “The opinion will enable the Prime Minister and two Deputy Prime Ministers to see whether and how much any laws might have been violated. After they get the additional reports, they will decide about the minister’s fate. They do not want to make decisions based on media headlines or Crnoja’s personal statements”, said Miljenko Manjkas, HDZ media relations consultant.
The Prime Minister met with Crnoja yesterday morning, but did not make any decision. Therefore, in the afternoon he called another meeting which also included his coalition partners Karamarko and Petrov. Interestingly, before the afternoon meeting, HDZ general secretary Milijan Brkić told reporters that according to his information Crnoja will stay as minister. This has put additional pressure on Karamarko, who is aware that Crnoja’s dismissal would not be well received among HDZ members and supporters.
During the afternoon and evening, conflicting rumours could be heard about Crnoja’s status. One of them suggested that the government was trying to find a legal basis for the view that Crnoja did not do anything illegal. This would mean that the Prime Minister still supported him. However, some sources from the parliamentary majority claim that the Prime Minister wants Crnoja to resign, rather than to have to fire him himself.
SDP president Zoran Milanović yesterday gave a 24-hour deadline to the Prime Minister to dismiss Crnoja. Otherwise, SDP will request that the Parliament votes about Crnoja’s fate. The vote would be preceded by a debate and Prime Minister Orešković would have to defend Crnoja against the opposition attacks.
According to one of the participants at the marathon meeting last night, Tomislav Karamarko threatened Orešković and Petrov with the following words: “Veterans will start a war if Crnoja is replaced.”
The final decision is expected later this afternoon.
