The leader of the SDP party, Pedja Grbin, has confirmed that the SDP has given up on President Zoran Milanovic as its candidate for the prime minister-designate. He reiterated that the parliament should be formed to oversee the caretaker government led by the HDZ party and pointed out that negotiations on the formation of the government could take months.

“I would not say that we have given up on him, but one should be realistic. If something is not realistic, one should not swim against the tide,” he said on Tuesday when asked whether the SDP had abandoned its plan to nominate Milanovic as prime minister-designate.

When asked the same question again, he said: “If that is your question, then the answer is yes,” Grbin said, recalling that the Most party and the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) had declared that they would not support Milanovic as prime minister-designate.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the party’s praesidium, Grbin would not say whether he was ready to take over as prime minister-designate. He said that they should take one step at a time and that all options were on the table.

He emphasised that the talks on forming a government would take days, weeks and possibly months.

In the meantime, the SDP will negotiate with all other political parties that have won seats in parliament, with the exception of the HDZ, to constitute parliament so that it can oversee the caretaker government, he said.

“It is now clear that the talks on forming a government will take time and the question is how they will end. We must not allow this government to operate unchecked during these talks,” he said.

Grbin explained that while parliament is not in session, the government has the power to issue legislative decrees, which gives the caretaker government more powers than before the dissolution of parliament.

“We believe that the parties that were in opposition in the last Parliament should pass a decision immediately after the constitution of Parliament to cancel the decision on the appointment of Ivan Turudic as State Attorney-General and amend Lex AP. In this way, we will prevent the crime from completely taking over Croatia and its institutions,” said Grbin.

On Tuesday, the SDP unanimously decided to form a negotiating team, which includes Grbin and SDP Secretary General Marko Kricka. The first round of negotiations of the SDP-led Rivers of Justice coalition will take place as soon as the third and fourth members of the negotiating team have been selected.

“Something can happen tomorrow, on Thursday or Friday. But parliament cannot be constituted until the election results are officially finalised,” he said.

Parliament should be constituted “by 26 May to prevent Turudic from taking office and crime from taking over the judiciary.” “We believe that this deadline must be met, otherwise the sense of the whole thing will be called into question,” he said.

He explained that Turudic cannot be removed because he is not yet in office, but that the decision on his appointment can be cancelled.