ZAGREB, 16 Feb 2022 - The opposition said on Wednesday that Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić "should have been gone long ago" not just due to suspicion of involvement in the Krš-Pađene wind park case but also due to his inaction.

"Ćorić should have been gone long ago. Now is just a matter of the prime minister's will whether he will keep a minister for whom there are serious leads on involvement in a crime worth billions," said Social Democratic Party president Peđa Grbin.

He recalled that parliament discussed a confidence vote in Ćorić 14 months ago and that the wind park was one of the reasons. "The only difference is that as of yesterday we have an email and the deposition of a person directly implicating Ćorić in breaking the law and a case costing Croatian citizens almost HRK 2 billion."

"Today it's even clearer how much damage he is doing to the ministry he heads," Grbin told the press.

Marijan Pavliček of the Sovereignists said Ćorić should say "clearly" if he had given orders to his associates and known what had been going on. He called on the authorities to do their job as well.

He said Ćorić was known only for the wind park case, that he was not responsible for any major investment, but he should be held to account primarily over his inaction.

Stephen Bartulica of the Homeland Movement said Ćorić must explain his former associate's claims that he had done everything in the wind park case on Ćorić's orders. "Politics has too much influence on the real economy. The temptations to abuse office are too big," he said, calling out Ćorić for showing no reform vision.

Bartulica warned about the possible outcome of an opposition request for a no-confidence vote in Ćorić.

"Many should have been gone long ago, the whole government perhaps, but the fact that some opposition groups are trying to exploit the situation by requesting impeachment could result in the saving of vulnerable ministers."

He said the ministers who were implicated in serious scandals and had proven to be incompetent should be sacked.

Sandra Benčić of the Green-Left Bloc said this group had already initiated an interpellation concerning Ćorić's connection with the Krš-Pađene case and said that he was the weakest link in the government.

Asked if it was odd that Ćorić had not been questioned, she said it was and that during the parliamentary debate on the interpellation, the opposition had presented many leads.

"We are waiting for USKOK (anti-corruption office) to do its job because it's inconceivable that such a close associate is a suspect and his superior has not even been interrogated", Benčić said.

Anka Mrak Taritaš of GLAS said Ćorić had been connected to the wind park case for a long time and that "the prime minister is a little jumpy" because quite a few ministers "have skeletons in the closet" and should be replaced.

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ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday evening defended Finance Minister Zdravko Marić from yet another attempt by the parliamentary Opposition to have the minister replaced, calling the opposition motion bizarre and the group of MPs who supported it as ridiculous.

"The parliamentary majority rejects the motion and Minister Marić will continue doing his job to the benefit of the Croatian economy," Plenković said in a debate on a motion by 34 opposition MPs for the parliament to give Marić a vote of no confidence.

He then described independent MP Karolina Vidović Krišto's presentation in which she explained the reasons for the motion as 'bizarre', likening the ideologically diverse group of MPs who supported it to "a circus troupe".

The PM said that the Opposition did not understand the concept of division of powers, judicial autonomy or unobstructed police work, dismissing their claims as conspiracy theories.

Speaking of the government's achievements, Plenković recalled the tax reform, reduction of public debt, restoration of the country's credit rating, and job preservation, wondering what Vidović Krišto had done. "What have you done for Croatia to join the EU? Nothing at all," he said.

He added that the incumbent government would continue in its present form for several years to come and work to improve citizens' living standards.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić dismissed allegations from the motion for a vote of no confidence, calling them unfounded.

He said that he categorically rejected any insinuation, starting with the one that he used his position to favour his friends' and acquaintances' interests, noting that he was doing his job conscientiously and responsibly.

Vidović Krišto launched the motion for a vote of no confidence in Marić over his spending a few days on a yacht owned by businessman Blaž Pavičić and over what she described as "his lie to the public that the businessman does not do business with the state."

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Grab your popcorn, the soap opera continues.