One deputy prime minister gives an ultimatum to another.
If Tomislav Karamarko does not resign from the post of the First Deputy Prime Minister by Friday, MOST’s ministers and MPs will turn their backs on him and vote for SDP’s motion of no confidence against the HDZ president, writes Jutarnji List on May 26, 2016.
Sources from the top of MOST confirm that the ultimatum, which it clearly is, was delivered by Božo Petrov to their partners in the government, and the deadline was not chosen randomly. The Friday, 27 May, is the last day by which the government of Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković has to officially respond and declare its opinion on SDP's proposal. It is not in question that the majority of ministers would support Karamarko since most of them are from HDZ, but the fact that the support would not be unanimous would be very significant.
SDP’s members of Parliament submitted on 18 May their official proposal for a no confidence motion against Karamarko as the First Deputy Prime Minister due to his role in the affair involving business dealings between his wife and MOL’s consultant Josip Petrović. After such proposal is officially filed, the government has eight days to respond. And since Thursday is a national holiday in Croatia, the final deadline has been moved to Friday evening at the latest.
It is telling that the government at its session on Wednesday had a chance to vote on the SDP’s proposal, but Prime Minister Orešković, in agreement with Petrov, decided against it, so it is expected that the government will make its decision during a telephone session on Friday, which is quite strange for such an important decision.
According to sources, six MOST’s ministers have already decided to support the SDP's proposal for the dismissal of Karamarko. Also, the vast majority of MOST’s members of Parliament, perhaps even all of them except Juro Martinović who openly opposed SDP president Milanović's plan, will vote in Parliament against the First Deputy Prime Minister.
However, it is not certain that the vote in Parliament will even take place. It is possible that Karamarko might decide to leave the post himself, particularly given the fact that this weekend HDZ’s party congress will take place. MOST claims that would demonstrate that Karamarko puts national interests ahead of his personal ones.
There is no doubt that these are crucial hours even within HDZ. And the fact that Karamarko did not attend Wednesday’s session of the government is also quite telling.
