Zagreb: Croatia's government junior coalition partner Friday demanded deputy prime minister Tomislav Karamarko quit over an alleged conflict of interest, deepening a political crisis that threatens to spark snap polls.
The announcement came after a government vote showed a deep split within the coalition. Ministers from the junior partner, the Most party, backed a no confidence motion in Karamarko, sought by the main opposition Social Democrats and due to be held in parliament by June 18.
Karamarko, considered the government's key figure, was backed by ministers from his HDZ party, the largest in the coalition.
"I hope that this (no confidence) vote will not take place and that Karamarko will accept the responsiblity" and step down as deputy prime minister, Most party leader Bozo Petrov told reporters.
Karamarko has "become a burden for the government," he added.
The fragile right-wing coalition has a thin parliamentary majority and its work has been marred by constant internal wrangling over reform moves ever since it took power in January.
The disputes deepened earlier this month after a local weekly published a contract showing that a lobbyist for Hungary's oil group MOL, which is indispute with Croatia over its local peer INA, paid Karamarko's wife for consulting services between 2013 and 2015.
Karamarko acknowledged the existence of the contract but has denied any wrongdoing. A national watchdog has opened a probe into the affair.
The Croatian government and MOL, holding a 44.8 and a 49-percent stake respectively in national oil group INA, are engaged in arbitration proceedings amid a longstanding dispute over how the company is managed.
While Most wants the arbitration proceedings to continue, HDZ wants Croatia to desist and launch negotiations with MOL.
Early elections would delay implementation of badly-needed reforms in the European Union's newest member whose economy remains one of the 28-nation bloc's weakest.
Croatia's economy posted 1.6 percent growth in 2015 after six years of recession.
AFP
