Another twist in the ruling coalition saga? Still, it seems HDZ is not interested.
Is it possible that the government could survive without both HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko and MOST president Božo Petrov? According to unofficial sources, MOST leadership may reportedly be willing to sacrifice Božo Petrov, if that is HDZ’s condition for Tomislav Karamarko to leave the government, reports Jutarnji List on May 31, 2016.
According to high-ranking party officials, it is essential for MOST that the government survives because they believe that new elections would block the country for several months and could lead credit rating agencies to perhaps again lower Croatia’s credit rating. And the fact that polls consistently show MOST losing support with the voters certainly does not make them likely to support the idea of early elections.
MOST representatives constantly reiterate that the government cannot be held hostage by one man, referring to Karamarko, and therefore some now think it might be possible to come to an agreement with HDZ that both party presidents leave the government together.
However, such a scenario does not seem to be very realistic. First, it is difficult to imagine that MOST’s six ministers would remain in the government without Petrov. Second, it seems that HDZ is not ready for any such deal. Sources close to Tomislav Karamarko gave a one-word answer when asked about the idea: “Impossible.”
On Monday, Petrov said he was ready to resign if Parliament does not dismiss Karamarko, but in that case it is probable that all his ministers would also leave the government. Petrov also admitted that in the last few days there has been almost no communication within the government. He reiterated his view that the government cannot be held hostage by a single individual and that all 12 MOST’s MPs would be united in their opposition to Karamarko.
“We are not attacking the government. All our statements are going in the direction that we want to protect the government. We definitely want the government to survive, but not at any cost. It is time to be more accountable to the citizens”, said Petrov on Monday.
On the other hand, Karamarko recently said that "HDZ will launch real reforms without Petrov as ‘a stone in a shoe’”.
