Is Croatia about to finally get new Veterans Affairs Minister?
After HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko gave his ultimatum and said that Milijan Brkić was the only candidate for veterans affairs minister who will get the support of HDZ in Parliament, it seems that Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković could be ready to officially nominate him, writes Večernji List on March 13, 2016.
Sources close to the prime minister confirm that Orešković does not have much choice and that the HDZ secretary general could be nominated, but it is still not certain. However, by all accounts, the saga about the selection of the new minister could finally end after more than 40 days. It has been transformed into a real political drama after the prime minister ignored for full two weeks Karamarko's nomination of Brkić and then invited veterans' associations to propose their own candidates. He is reportedly not happy with Brkić and would not have selected him himself. However, Karamarko in his public statements indirectly reminded the prime minister that without HDZ's support in Parliament he cannot confirm anybody. The prime minister's proposal for the minister was reportedly Đuro Glogoški, one of the leaders of the veterans' protests.
MOST has still not publicly said whether they would support Brkić, but only announced they were waiting for the prime minister's decision. Sources from the government say that the prime minister will have to somehow distance himself from Brkić, due to the issue with his university diploma, which could possibly be annulled due to plagiarism. The prime minister already has a negative experience with former Minister Mijo Crnoja who had to leave the government after just six days. That is reportedly the reason why the selection of the new minister has lasted for so long.
As HDZ secretary general, Milijan Brkić was one of the key people who brought electoral victory to HDZ and it was certainly awkward for him to be forced to wait two weeks for the prime minister to find time to meet with him. According to unofficial information, the prime minister did not know that Karamarko would propose Brkić for the new minister, but read about it on the internet when he returned from his visit to London.
