ZAGREB, August 7, 2019 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday that his predecessor at the HDZ helm, Tomislav Karamarko, who has recently said that he is thinking of his new candidacy for the party chief, had stood a chance and that things were moving on.

"I believe in the prudence of Croatian voters; people can see who takes which route for the country. Karamarko stood a chance, he definitely gave his contribution, however, things are moving on," Plenković said during his visit to the coastal resort of Opatija.

Plenković recalled that more than three years ago, when the HDZ was led by Karamarko, the party ousted its government. They failed to reconfigure a parliamentary majority, and Kramarko stepped down as the party leader, he added.

"In 2016 we swiftly put the party on its feet, won the confidence of voters and now we are leading the government and achieving excellent economic results, strengthening the country's international position and are trying to reduce polarisation in the society," the premier said.

In connection with Karamarko's criticism that the current leadership has made the party move away from its voters, Plenković responded that "the policy we are pursuing is healthy for the Croatian society and the HDZ".

Asked by accusations of the former president Ivo Josipović that the current president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović was under influence of alcohol during the central celebrations of Victory Day in Knin, Plenković said that those was "a very tough statement".

"The whole celebration passed in a nice and dignified manner with messages, speeches, being emotionally-charged," he said.

Asked by press to comment on chanting for the 'For the homeland ready' salute during the celebrations of Victory Day, Plenković said that it was up to the police to respond to such developments and also courts can get involved, if there are assessments that they should act.

"I can see that the police keep saying that regardless of their numerous activities, the things do not end up the way they (the police) have anticipated."

When they assess that there are offences, the police must respond, the premier said.

During his stay in Opatija, Plenković met local authorities for the talks on development plans of this Adriatic resort town.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, August 5, 2019 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said in Knin on Monday that Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković was not in any jeopardy after his predecessor Tomislav Karamarko announced that he was thinking about running for the post of HDZ president at the next party election.

Božinović believes that the prime minister is successfully leading the government, that he has successfully won the election and that he has consolidated the party both in terms of organisation and in terms of finances.

"As far as candidates and their desires are concerned, the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) is a democratic party. We all know who is who in the party and what their potential is," Božinović said.

HDZ MP Miro Kovač, too, briefly commented on Karamarko's possible candidacy for party president, saying that everyone had the right to talk about themselves.

Asked whether there were too many candidates from the HDZ's right wing, Kovač said that he was not counting the candidates and that that was not his job.

"I'm following the situation but I'm not keeping records of who wants to be what in the HDZ. It is a democratic party, that's what we fought for and everyone has the right to express their ambitions. That's natural," said Kovač.

Asked whether Karamarko is now his main rival, Kovac said that he doesn't see any particular rivalry because he values everyone who wishes to assist the HDZ.

Former HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko on Monday said that motivated by the poor situation in the party and its defeat in the May European parliamentary election, he was seriously considering the possibility of once again running for the post of HDZ president.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 20, 2019 - The Croatian Parliament's Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System decided that conditions had not been met to convene an extraordinary session of Parliament following opposition motions for a vote of no confidence in government ministers.

The Committee had been asked by Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković to say whether an extraordinary session could be convened in this case. Jandroković cited a constitutional provision saying that during Parliament's recess sessions can be called only by the head of state or government or by a majority of MPs.

This decision means that during Parliament's summer break it will not be possible to take a vote of no confidence in Health Minister Milan Kujundžić, as demanded by the MOST party.

The Committee's deputy chair, Peđa Grbin of the Social Democratic Party, said that he would turn to the Constitutional Court. "You are ignoring the article of the Constitution that says that a debate on a no-confidence motion must be held within 30 days of submission of such motion, and I emphasise the word 'must'. There is no mention that this does not refer to recesses," he told the Committee's chair, Željko Reiner of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

Reiner responded by saying that under the Constitution only a majority of all MPs, or 76, could call a session of Parliament to discuss a no-confidence motion, and not a fifth of lawmakers as in this case.

More Politics news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, July 19, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that one of the reasons for the government reshuffle was a smooth accomplishment of goals, and that pressure by the political opponent and the opposition was such that they wanted to create an atmosphere of instability and stick labels on the government and the ruling HDZ party which did not exist and which he would not let stick on him.

"After three years of the government's work, there are moments when I, as prime minister, evaluate if we can improve, modify the team, make some refreshments which will help us achieve our programme goals," he said on Nova TV.

Plenković said he was especially talking about quite strong media impressions and perception of wrongdoing and even allusions of corruption.

"I don't want, at any moment, to be brought into a situation of having anyone, whether a political opponent or an independent analyst, tie to the government... anything with such connotations. Then I decided, without prejudging, confident that the majority of the people in the government are good and act in line with principles... to cast away all those things from the government's work, from the government's programme, from the party's image and from our priorities."

Although he denied that the opposition imposed the tempo of the reshuffle, he said the opposition was destructive.

"The destructiveness of our political opponent and the opposition was such that they practically wanted to create an atmosphere of instability, of diverting the focus from what is essential, of sticking labels on the government and the HDZ which not only don't exist but I won't let them stick on me."

Plenković said there were three fundamental reasons for the government reshuffle, one being a smooth continuation of work on the government's goals.

He said he wanted to politically refresh the government to "cast away all those topics that have a negative connotation and cloud the quality work of ministers and this government," so that he could "continue with economic growth, to enable a better social inclusion of people... to continue with a quality absorption of EU funds."

Responding to a question from the interviewer, Plenković said the replaced ministers were part of the HDZ.

The PM was also asked about the public perception of Health Minister Milan Kujundžić, who was not replaced despite being faced with problems, including the threat by wholesale drug suppliers that they will stop distributing drugs.

"We are talking with the wholesale suppliers. They were in a meeting here. They received certain funds. The talks will continue," he said, adding that the government and the Croatian Health Insurance Fund would ensure a smooth supply of drugs to hospitals. He said Kujundžić was not putting patients' health in danger.

Plenković was also asked about a Constitutional Court decision on the use of ethnic minority languages and scripts in Vukovar, under which the rights of the Serb minority in the town must be improved.

"Facts are important, what the Constitutional Court decision says. There is no legal obligation that the local community, for example, must set up bilingual signs," he said, adding that under Vukovar's statute, there were provisions which the court did not touch. "The town council will hold a discussion on the state of the dialogue, understanding and tolerance."

He said that under his government things had moved forward and there was more effort to resolve such problems and create a more positive atmosphere between Croats and the Serb minority.

Plenković said Vukovar mayor Ivan Penava, with whom he talked earlier in the day, "is not bringing into question either our legal order or the Constitutional Court decision" and that he "understands his tasks very well."

More politics news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, July 18, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who held a news conference on Wednesday evening to present ministerial nominees as part of his cabinet reshuffle, said that this was a larger-scale reshuffle meant to enable an unburdened government to continue implementing its agenda and thus enable the national economy to continue growing as well as the Croatian society to strengthen its solidarity and reduce polarisation and tensions.

Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić, who is leaving the government as she was recently appointed secretary-general of the Council of Europe, is to be replaced by Croatian Ambassador to Germany, Gordan Grlić Radman.

Last week, Plenković nominated Ivan Malenica, the Dean of Šibenik Polytechnic, as the new Public Administration Minister replacing Lovro Kuščević who resigned in early July over reported involvement in murky real estate deals.

State Assets Minister Goran Marić, who also resigned over media reports implicating him in murky real estate deals, is to be replaced by Mario Banozić, an official of the Vukovar-Srijem County administration.

Gabrijela Žalac who is the Regional Development and EU Funds Minister will be replaced by the current Labour and Pension System Minister Marko Pavić.

The Labour and Pension System Minister nominee is Josip Aladrović who is currently at the helm of the Croatian Pension Insurance Fund (HZMO).

The outgoing Minister of Demography, the Family, Youth and Social Policy Nada Murganić is to be replaced by a member of parliament, Vesna Bedeković.

Outgoing Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić's successor is incumbent state-secretary Marija Vučković.

The government will have two new deputy prime ministers: Interior Minister Davor Božinović and Finance Minister Zdravko Marić.

Some changes in the posts of state secretaries in a few ministerial departments will be conducted as part of this reshuffle plan.

Thus, Transport and Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Nikolna Brnjac is going to the post of the Foreign Ministry's state secretary, while Josip Bilaver will fill her post in the Transport Ministry.

A parliamentary deputy, Sanja Putica, is nominated as a new state secretary in the science and education ministry.

The ministerial nominees and this reshuffle plan will be presented to the national parliament on Friday.

Deputy parliament speaker and deputy leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Milijan Brkić said on Wednesday evening that the party's leadership had unanimously supported the new minister nominees, underlining that the HDZ will continue to care for citizens' problems and resolve issues facing the country.

Also junior partners supported the reshuffle plan during their meeting with Plenković on late Wednesday evening.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic held a press conference late on Wednesday to announce the names of new ministers and state secretaries in his government, saying that the reshuffle was necessary because the public perception of his cabinet was becoming a burden and that he wanted to put the focus of the public and media on everything positive that the government has done so far.

Thanking the outgoing ministers for their effort and contribution, Plenković said he wanted the focus to be on government achievements in having the country's credit rating restored to investment grade, increasing the minimum and average wages, economic growth, European Commission projections, lower unemployment, higher employment, measures for demographic revitalisation, and rescuing the Agrokor conglomerate.

He said that these achievements had ensured the stability of political institutions in the country. "Without this stability, none of these achievements would have been possible."

Plenković said that it was common to reshuffle the cabinet before the start of the fourth year in office. "They will make it possible for the government to continue implementing its programme unburdened," he said, citing activities aimed at economic growth, promoting solidarity in society and lowering social tensions.

The prime minister made the announcement after meeting with his coalition partners, who had given him their support for the changes, and after a meeting of the leadership of his HDZ party.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 16, 2019 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Tuesday that he hoped that an extraordinary parliamentary sitting with a government reshuffle on its agenda might be held by the end of this week.

"I hope that the Sabor's meeting will be by the end of this week, the consultations are still under way," Jandroković told reporters while entering Government House in Zagreb on Tuesday afternoon.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is holding consultations on his plan to rearrange his cabinet, following the resignations of two ministers and the fact that the current Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Marija Pejčinović Burić, in the autumn will assume the post of Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.

On Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Zvonimir Frka-Petešić, said that the public would be informed of everything in a timely fashion upon the conclusion of the consultations.

Following the decision of Goran Marić to announce his resignation as State Assets Minister on Monday morning after a contract-signing ceremony in the town of Novi Vinodolski, Jandroković said that he could not comment on that as a surprise but admitted that "it has not been an easy situation".

The resignation tendered by State Assets Minister Marić ensued after his talks with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on that step a few days ago and it is not a surprise, the government's public relations office says in a press release issued on Monday afternoon.

The government said that on Monday morning Marić sent his letter of resignation to PM Plenković and afterwards informed the public about that move.

More news about parliament can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 14, 2019 - Međimurje County Prefect Matija Posavec, who is an official of the Croatian People's Party (HNS), a junior partner in the ruling coalition, on Sunday said he was sorry for the party's decision to enter the ruling coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in 2017.

During his interview with the HTV public broadcaster, Posavec said that he would be the first from the HNS to extend apologies over that coalition.

He then apologised to the HNS "member, sympathisers and the general public for what the HNS did two years ago. That was neither courageous nor responsible." Posavec referred to the fact that two years ago, when the Bridge party left the ruling coalition, the HNS, which was until then one of minor opposition parties, switched sides and joined the government.

He believes that the HNS needs a new course and expresses readiness to replace HNS leader Ivan Vrdoljak at the helm of the party.

Posavec also insists that there is no longer any need for the HNS to remain in the ruling coalition as his party accomplished the goal it set two years ago: the introduction of the curriculum reform in schools.

He believes that early parliamentary elections should be held this year "due to all scandals in the government", and told the presenter of the show that he did not fear that he would be kicked out of the HNS.

In the case of his eviction, he said he would continue performing his duties of the county prefect as an independent politician.

More HNS news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - The parliamentary group of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Friday began gathering signatures for a motion of no-confidence in Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Gabrijela Žalac, Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić and State Assets Minister Goran Marić over their alleged involvement in corruption scandals, unofficial sources said.

A no-confidence motion requires the signatures of one fifth of MPs, or 31. If the necessary number of signatures are gathered, the motion will be formally submitted to parliament already next week, the sources said.

Such motions are debated no earlier than seven and no later than 30 days after being included on parliament's agenda.

The head of the SDP parliamentary group, Arsen Bauk, said recently that of the seven motions for a vote of no-confidence in cabinet ministers filed so far, four had resulted in their resignations.

In the meantime, the parliamentary group of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) has unanimously supported Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's proposal that Ivan Malenica, the Dean of Šibenik Polytechnic, succeed Lovro Kuščević as the Minister of Public Administration, the group's chairman Branko Bačić told the press after their meeting on Friday morning.

Bačić said that they did not discuss changes for other ministerial positions. "It has been agreed that an extraordinary session of the Croatian parliament will be convened by the end of the month to decide on the appointment of new government ministers."

The HDZ leadership has backed Plenković to propose a government reshuffle after analysing the work of all government ministries.

"Today we did not discuss the number of ministers who would be replaced. The prime minister has our support to make such a proposal to the party's leadership and coalition partners, after which our group will confirm the necessary number of ministers," Bačić said.

Asked if State Assets Minister Goran Marić still enjoyed the trust of the party's leadership after all the scandals reported by the media, Bačić repeated that the HDZ leadership had expressed their support for the prime minister to decide which ministries would be reshuffled. He said that the prime minister decides on the status of each minister but that his decision also needs the support of the party's leadership.

Bačić said that he had notified all the coalition partners of the nomination of the new Minister of Public Administration before the prime minister made the announcement on Thursday evening, adding that they supported Malenica's nomination.

Bačić said that the position of the HDZ and most of the coalition partners was that a government reshuffle should be carried out as soon as possible.

According to unofficial sources, the extraordinary session of parliament might be held as early as the end of next week and the government reshuffle could include four to five ministries.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday evening that he would nominate Ivan Malenica, the Dean of Šibenik Polytechnic, as the new Administration Minister.

"Malenica is a young man, a lawyer, who is well versed in issues relating to public administration," Plenković told the press after a meeting with the coalition partners at government headquarters.

The PM said that consultations on other government posts would be held in the coming days, which would be followed by a vote of confidence in Malenica and other nominees.

Ivan Malenica was born in Šibenik in 1985. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Split, and in 2013 he enrolled in the Public Law and Administration postgraduate doctoral program at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. He has held the post of Dean at Šibenik Polytechnic since October 2017.

His professional interests include public administration and administrative law.

More news about the Ministry of Administration can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - The leader of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), Milorad Pupovac, on Wednesday said that the announced government reshuffle was a welcome move that will improve functionality and strengthen the government.

"Improved functionality and strengthening the government, in the opinion of our caucus and party, is a welcome move and in that regard we support the stand of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union). We are waiting for the prime minister to do what is necessary, that means internal consultations, and for him to decide and assess what needs to be done, after which we too will be informed, I guess," Pupovac said, whose party is part of the ruling majority.

As far as the timing of the reshuffle is concerned, Pupovac believes that there is no need to wait until the autumn. Considering speculations that the number of ministries will be reduced, Pupovac recalled that there had been experiments with fewer ministries, but that did not improve the government's functionality. He said the prime minister will decide on the number of ministries.

Asked whether the reshuffle was possible by Friday or whether parliament would convene for an extraordinary session, Pupovac said that "there is not enough time for serious work" to be done by Friday.

Asked whether the government was burdened by scandals involving ministers, Pupovac said "a lot burdens the government, various circumstances in society." "What we as partners consider to be important is political strengthening, strengthening the government and the political scene in the country because it seems to us that this is a crisis point that needs to be considered and dealt with," he added.

Reporters asked if that meant that ministers Goran Marić and Gabrijela Žalac and others should be replaced. Pupovac said that the prime minister should be asked that. "When the time comes for talks on that, we will say our opinion, he added. Pupovac dismissed speculation that the SDSS would take over the Public Administration Ministry.

The Opposition in parliament on Wednesday called for a snap election instead of a government reshuffle as announced by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. MP Gordan Maras (Social Democrats) said that Plenković's government is the most corrupt since Croatia gained independence.

Nikola Grmoja (MOST) considers that Plenković's hands are tied. This government will probably hold out for the full term, unless the HNS (People's Party) and minority MPs estimate that it would be better for them to leave, yet Croatian citizens will have nothing to gain from that.

"We called for a new election long ago, for allowing the people to decide and for not agreeing to political bartering in the parliament," he said.

He believes it is scandalous that someone who is not fit to be in government can sit in the parliament, as former minister Lovro Kuščević will.

Silvano Hrelja of the Pensioners' Party (HSU) said that he would like the prime minister to have the courage, in the interest of Croatian citizens, to conduct an ambitious government reshuffle and find people who are willing to work in the public interest.

"It would be good for Croatia's mental health if we stopped dealing with scandals and for someone to take the wheel and steer those ministries in the right direction," he said.

As far as Kuščević's returning to parliament is concerned, Hrelja recalled that parliament had on several occasions debated whether mayors and municipal leaders should be allowed to run for parliament and whether they should automatically return to parliament. "That all needs to be defined with election legislation," said Hrelja.

More political news can be found in the dedicated section.