The director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (FZOEU) and a senior member of the liberal People's Party (HNS), Dubravko Ponos, on Wednesday stepped down from all party duties "after he had consulted with the party's leadership."

It was not immediately clear whether he would also resign from the Fund, as expected by HNS Deputy Prime Minister Predrag Stromar.

“The Croatian People’s Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS) is of the view that his actions and statements cannot be justified and do not represent the way of communication and values that the party advocates. We expect our officials to work in the service of citizens, professionally and transparently, but also to be aware of their own personal responsibility and importance of appropriate communication in front of the entire Croatian public,” HNS said in a press release.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Predrag Stromar said he expected Ponos to resign from his position in the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund after Ponos released a recording of him threatening a former president of the Fund’s Staff Council.

“That is not the way I communicate and not the way the HNS communicates and I expect Mr Ponos to resign,” Stromar said ahead of an inner cabinet meeting.

Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric also called for Ponos’s resignation.

“I heard the recording and I agree that such conduct is unacceptable. I expect Mr Ponos to tender his resignation to the Management Board of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund,” Coric said on Tuesday.

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, Ponos released the audio recording of a conversation that took place a year ago when he threatened the former president of the Fund’s Staff Council Mislav Kotarac. Ponos claimed that Kotarac was blackmailing him with the secretly made recording.