Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalic handed in her resignation on Monday after the publication of new e-mail correspondence between her and the consultants and lawyers who had worked on drafting the controversial Lex Agrokor bill in early 2017.

Her resignation was announced in a joint news conference on Monday held by her and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

Dalic said that the e-mail scandal had made her to be seen as a burden to the government and her party, even though she did nothing wrong.

“In agreement with Prime Minister (Plenkovic), I resigned from the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister. In this unbelievable mix of circumstances and interests surrounding Agrokor, it looks like I suddenly became a burden to this government, to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the democratic majority. That’s something I do not wish to be,” Dalic said.

The law, dubbed Lex Agrokor in the media, was designed to introduce state-appointed emergency management at the privately-owned company, as its bankruptcy would have put in jeopardy some 60,000 jobs across the region and the entire Croatian economy.

“I was tasked with solving the problem of Agrokor to prevent that crisis from dragging (the country) into recession. That deal was in the coalition agreement agreed by HDZ and Most parties, who were partners in the ruling coalition back then. The task is completed,” Dalic added.

The scandal, which started last week after website Index.hr published Dalic’s private correspondence, revealed that consultants and lawyers from the private sector had worked on drafting the controversial piece of legislation on state-appointed emergency administration without the knowledge of the wider public.

“It’s important now to find out who leaked fragments of correspondence involving a Deputy Prime Minister. I did not do anything wrong, or, God forbid, illegal. Perception – and we all know that in politics it’s perception that matters most – resulted in junior coalition partners complaining to Prime Minister and the government. I want to avoid that, I do not wish to be a burden to the HDZ, to the government, or to the Prime Minister,” Dalic added.

Plenkovic avoided explaining the reason for Dalic’s resignation, and praised her achievements instead.

“After discussions yesterday and today, Martina Dalic and me decided that she should hand in her resignation today, which I accepted… Deputy Prime Minister (Dalic) gave a huge contribution, not only to the economy, the national reforms strategy, and the introduction of the euro, but also by dealing with the Agrokor crisis… A year and a half ago, the government insisted that the responsibility for the company laid solely on its owner and management. We did not allow for an atmosphere of chaos to spread and create wider problems for the financial system. At the same time, as a responsible government in coalition with Most party, we hired experts from outside of the public administration, with Most’s knowledge and on Most’s initiative,” Plenkovic said.

He added that more transparency was needed at the time of the drafting of Lex Agrokor.

“I only regret that there was not more transparency, which would help avoid these little shadows in an otherwise exceptionally successful process of stopping the crisis at Agrokor and preventing it spilling over into other companies and the economy at large,” Plenkovic said.

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