Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said after a meeting of the leadership of her Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party on Monday that former PM Ivo Sanader had the right to activate his mandate as a member of parliament, but that "the plan of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), under which Sanader's return will wake up reported sleepers in the HDZ," would fail and that the SDP would not manage to rally sufficient support in parliament for a vote of no confidence in the government.
"The plan is that once Sanader returns to the parliament, the sleepers will wake up... and realise that they are not HDZ members, but this won't happen for many reasons, one of the most important being the fact that the HDZ is the strongest and a victorious party, not only when it comes to winning elections, but also when it comes to overcoming problems," Kosor told reporters after the session of the HDZ presidency.
She underlined that the HDZ was united and that partners in the ruling coalition government were agreed that the government should complete its mission of fighting corruption, implementing measures for economic recovery, and wrapping up Croatia's EU entry talks.
Kosor believes that the SDP is acting in collusion with Sanader and that there are many signs supporting her view, including the SDP's request for giving the government a vote of no confidence, made on the same day Sanader asked that his mandate as a member of parliament be activated.
Kosor also believes that the SDP's request is aimed at stopping the fight against corruption, noting that the fall of the government will also mean the departure of Minister of the Interior Tomislav Karamarko and other government ministers, as well as of Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic.
"If the government falls, Kosor, Karamarko and other ministers will leave too, as will Bajic. That is a direct attack on the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor," Kosor said, adding that the SDP had been against extending Bajic's term even though he "has results".
