The coalition government is stable and the government is functioning well, ministers from the senior Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the junior Croatian People's Party (HNS) said on Thursday following speculation that the HNS was to abandon the coalition because of a proposal to introduce a bill on real estate tax.
Ministers defended the coalition after the leader of another junior coalition partner, Ivan Jakovcic of the Istrian Democratic Party, claimed that the pre-election Plan 21 platform needed to be changed and HNS MP Jozo Rados claimed that his party opposed the introduction of the real estate tax bill being proposed by Finance Minister Slavko Linic of the SDP.
Linic told reporters that the political situation in the country was stable but cautioned that if the real estate tax was abandoned, it would not be possible to reduce health contributions on salaries which was one of the Plan 21 promises.
Linic does not adopt laws nor does any minister, laws are adopted by the Croatian Sabor and it is up to MPs to decide. If the law is not adopted, there will be no reduction of health contributions, said Linic.
He recalled that from the very start the coalition government had advocated that the competitiveness of Croatia's economy be directed toward reducing health contributions and making the wealthy contribute more through real estate tax.
He added that the government was functioning well and that the majority in the Sabor supported the government's proposals.
There are many who are not happy with the government's solutions, but as long as we have a stable situation in parliament, we can cay that the political situation in Croatia is stable, he said.
Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak (HNS) said that his party was not considering withdrawing from the coalition if the real estate law was adopted, and that every proposal had to be laid out on the table so that each ministry could offer its opinion. But in the end, he said, the particular moment at hand needs to be considered.
He did not think that this meant he was contradicting his party colleague Rados and rejected the idea that he was accusing the media of making up a conflict between the HNS and SDP.
He recalled his earlier opinion on the real estate tax, that the HNS believed that the tax should not be adopted until economic growth occurs, adding that the party still stood by that opinion.
Asked if that meant that if the SDP insisted on imposing the tax before economic growth occurred, the HNS would abandon the coalition, Vrdoljak reiterated that the coalition was stable and that there was no crisis in the government.
Other ministers in both the SDP and HNS too confirmed that the government was operating stably and that there was no crisis in the coalition.
