Opposition parties and a portion of independent representatives in the Croatian Parliament reached a principled agreement on Wednesday to initiate a motion for the recall of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Martina Dalić, at the proposal of the Bridge of Independent Lists.
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At a one-hour meeting that brought together fifteen participants, from the left to the right, it was agreed that all comments and proposals would be collected by Friday and submitted to parliamentary procedure by Monday at the latest.
Grmoja expects the opposition to be united
The political secretary of the Bridge, Nikola Grmoja, told reporters that this is now an opposition initiative, although it was initiated by his party, and expressed hope that the entire opposition would be united in voting in Parliament.
“We are aware that this ruling majority is bought and that it will be difficult to shake it. However, we want SDSS member Milorad Pupovac, HSLS member Darinko Kosor, HNS, and others to invest their political capital in Martina Dalić and the interests she represents. We also want HDZ members to defend Martina Dalić and for Andrej Plenković himself to defend her due to everything that has happened around Agrokor,” explained Grmoja the motives for initiating the recall, given that they are aware of how difficult it will be to achieve success.
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SDP’s Arsen Bauk also stated that he does not remember a case where the opposition succeeded in overthrowing the government. “If it could overthrow the government, it would not be the opposition, nor would the government be the government, as that would mean there is no majority. The goal of the initiative is to open a discussion, and in that sense, every initiative will succeed,” asserted the leader of the SDP parliamentary club, adding that “one participant in the meeting expressed doubts about supporting the initiative for the recall of Minister Dalić.”
HSS President Krešo Beljak emphasized that the opposition is seeking its place in the sun with this initiative, the fall of the government, and early elections, as the model by which Croatia is currently governed is not good. There were individuals at the meeting who “have a question mark over their heads” about whether to overthrow the government, so such individuals should no longer be invited, he added.
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“It is known who the key parties are and who the individuals are who do not know where they are,” said Beljak, adding at the insistence of reporters that he was referring to independent Marin Škibola. He stated that this time, unlike the discussion about the recall of the government in November, it will not happen that HSS members are absent from the vote “due to illness.”
Goran Aleksić (SNAGA) believes that the goal of the initiative is for the public to “see everything that Minister Dalić has done wrong, but it is also necessary to sensitize the HDZ satellites so that they can see who they are dealing with.”
The leader of the Living Wall, Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, states that “with each passing day of this government, especially Minister Dalić, corruption in the country is increasing. A large majority of the opposition has agreed on the initiative for the recall of Dalić, and I hope that conscience will awaken in some representatives of the ruling majority and that there will be enough votes for her removal.”
The Istanbul Convention is not a condition for Dalić’s removal
Before the opposition meeting, IDS and GLAS issued a statement requesting that the representatives of the Bridge commit to supporting the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, but then GLAS leader Anka Mrak Taritaš clarified that this is not a condition for Dalić’s removal in Parliament.
“It is not a problem for us to support the initiative for the removal of Minister Dalić, and tomorrow we will send a request to all opposition clubs for signatures to include the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on the agenda of the Parliament. This way we can show the real split within the HDZ and its coalition partners. And the opposition will vote as it will vote. We will vote in favor, while the Club of Bruna Esih will vote against ratification, and there is even an idea for our two clubs to jointly initiate this initiative,” she said.
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She asserted that both topics can reveal the weaknesses of the HDZ and its coalition partners. “Do you think that HNS or the minorities will vote against ratification? That will show that the glue that binds them is power, and if you want to strike a blow against the HDZ and Plenković, then you can do so on this. If there were a clean situation, he would let it go into parliamentary procedure,” assesses the GLAS leader.
The question of confidence in a member, president, or the government as a whole can be initiated at the proposal of at least one-fifth of the total number of representatives, i.e., based on 31 representative signatures.
Once a sufficient number of signatures is collected, the proposal for recall is immediately included on the agenda. From that moment, an eight-day period begins in which the government must respond, while the parliamentary debate must be conducted no later than within 30 days.
At least 76 votes are needed for a vote of no confidence.
