Ivan Penava of the Domovinski pokret (DP) party said on Monday that he does not expect a major breakthrough or a situation of "to be or not to be" in the negotiations on forming a new government with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on Tuesday. He added that all options are still open to the DP and the party is still in talks with everyone. Pročitaj više

“That will be the case until something is signed or someone decides after signing to no longer abide by what was signed. That is realistic. We are in talks with the HDZ and we have made some progress towards an agreement on the formation of the majority. However, nothing has been put in writing or fully agreed yet, so all options remain on the table,” Penava told reporters in Vukovar.

He said that at this stage of the negotiations “some results are more or less likely” and added: “I do not expect this to end tomorrow because these processes are quite complex.”

“Things are in the nuances here. We have overcome the first obstacle and we are still discussing how we can stabilise the whole thing in the most acceptable way. If we manage to do that, we will be one step further towards negotiations on ideological points and then on the programme of the future government and the distribution of government portfolios when we reach these stages,” Penava said, adding that by “the first obstacle” he meant the exclusion of the Independent Democratic Serb Party from the governing majority.

“Let us say that this thing is coming to an end. I can not say that it’s completely finished, because as far as I know, the ethnic minorities are also having a meeting tomorrow.”

Penava did not want to comment on the decision of the strongest opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), to abandon the formation of an anti-corruption majority in parliament. He added that he would speak to SDP leader Pedja Grbin on Monday to find out the reasons for this.