A cabinet reshuffle which was rumoured to be in the works in recent weeks finally materialised on Wednesday, after a meeting of leadership of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed the dismissal of several ministers, after three of them had already resigned their posts in recent weeks.
Last month, Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic-Buric was the first to leave her post after being named the new Secretary General of the Strasbourg-based intergovernmental human rights watchdog Council of Europe. After much speculation on who would replace her, it was revealed on Wednesday that the post would be taken over by Gordan Grlic-Radman, a career diplomat who has been serving as Croatia's ambassador to Germany since 2017.
Earlier this month, Public Administration Minister, Lovro Kuscevic, handed in his resignation after a series of investigative reports in the local media appeared involving him in a series of improper real estate deals during his earlier tenure as a local government official on his native island of Brac.
Kuscevic, who maintains his innocence, said he would go back to Parliament and continue his political career as party's MP. Last week, Prime Minister Plenkovic said the portfolio would be taken over by Ivan Malenica, a high-ranked HDZ party member and administration expert who is currently the dean of the polytechnic university in Sibenik.
On Monday, the cabinet was hit by another scandal-induced resignation, as Minister for State Assets, Goran Maric, announced his resignation in a news conference. His move came after another set of media reports in recent weeks accusing him of suspicious real estate dealings. According to party sources, his replacement would be Mario Banozic, a local government official in Croatia's eastern Vukovar-Srijem County.
Murganic, Tolusic, Zalac, also sacked
On Wednesday, the momentous HDZ party meeting behind closed doors ended in three more sackings.
The Minister for Regional Development and EU Funds, Gabrijela Zalac, is also to be relieved of her duty. Initially unknown to the general public, Zalac rose to prominence after a traffic incident in which she had hit and injured a ten-year-old girl with her car in Zalac's native town of Vinkovci, while driving with an expired driving license.
According to party sources, the current Labour and Pension Minister, Marko Pavic, will replace Zalac, while Pavic's portofolio will be taken over by Josip Aladrovic, currently the head of the national pension system fund HZMO.
Another cabinet departure is the Minister for Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy, Nada Murganic, who is set to be replaced by Vesna Bedekovic, currently a HDZ MP. Although Murganic was not mentioned in any scandals, she was slammed by the media for inaction over several incidents which involved the perceived failure of social services.
These included a domestic abuse incident in which a man threw four children off the family home's first floor balcony in February, and a shooting incident earlier this month in which a social worker was shot dead.
Minister of Agriculture, Tomislav Tolusic, confirmed to reporters after the party meeting that he would leave his post too, and that his successor would be the current ministry official, Marija Vuckovic, who will continue “to do the same or a better job.”
Aladrovic, Bedekovic, and Vuckovic are all largely unknown to the general public.
PM Plenkovic: Reshuffle was “necessary for the benefit of Croatia's society and citizens”
Immediately after the party leadership meeting, Plenkovic met with junior coalition partners, and proceeded to announce the appointments to reporters in a press conference on Wednesday night.
When asked about his reasons for the sudden sacking of three more ministers on Wednesday, Plenkovic said that the media potrayal of his cabinet was increasingly becoming a burden for his cabinet, which made him realise it was time for a change.
“It is common that in the run-up to a government's fourth year of its term, certain (personnel) changes are made, which can allow the cabinet to continue implementing its plans and activities with no burdens – activities which are mainly related to improving economic growth, increasing solidarity and reducing the polarisation and divisions in the society at large, and finally, do what we set out to do after the 2016 election,” Plenkovic said.
Although the parliament is in its summer recess since Monday, the government will ask for an extraordinary session on Friday, where new appointments are expected to be formally voted in and when the six new ministers’ tenure will officially begin.
