In an interview with Jutarnji List, MOST leader explains his decision.
Božo Petrov, MOST leader and the Deputy Prime Minister, made the final decision – Karamarko will no longer be a member of this government. At an emergency telephone meeting of the government on Friday, at which ministers will individually state their position on SDP’s proposal to dismiss First Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko, all MOST’s ministers will support the motion of no confidence against Karamarko, reports Jutarnji List on May 26, 2016.
The decision was made on Monday evening, and the MOST president informed Karamarko about it on Tuesday morning. He left him a 48-hour window to tender his resignation, and given the fact that it did not happen, MOST’s MPs will vote for his dismissal. This will certainly result in the largest earthquake in the ruling coalition so far.
“Unfortunately, everything that has been happening in the last three weeks, the information which has become public, it compromises members of the government. We do not need any more information about this situation. We could have revealed our position a week ago, but we wanted to give time to the other side to solve the problem. I think we all bear some responsibility. And that is what I had expected from all the stakeholders in this story”, said Petrov. “We do not need to have more details or to wait for the decision of the Commission on Conflict of Interest Prevention because the information available clearly shows that there is a political responsibility.”
“If I were in any way to become a burden for the government and if I resigned, why should the government depend on me? I am just a representative of MOST. MOST could appoint someone else to be the Deputy Prime Minister”, said Petrov asked whether the government could survive without Karamarko. “I think it should survive if it is in our interest for the citizens to live better. I cannot agree with opinion that all this is just someone's private matter. This is not an invasion of family privacy, because no one is questioning the private life of any member of his family, but their business relations.”
“MOST will not support Karamarko in Parliament. If he does not resign, MOST’s MPs will vote for his dismissal. I have talked with Karamarko and told him our opinion. At the telephone session on Friday, ministers from MOST will agree with the proposal for his dismissal”, said Petrov.
Asked who could replace Karamarko in the government, Petrov said he did not want to comment on internal decisions of other parties. “Who will be HDZ’s Deputy Prime Minister, who will possibly lead HDZ, that is something that HDZ members would have to decide. Tomislav Karamarko can remain HDZ president if that suits their members. MOST would have no problem with that. I am just commenting about political accountability at the level of executive branch and the position of Deputy Prime Minister.”
