Croatian People's Party (HNS) leader, Stjepan Curaj, state secretary in the finance ministry, is likely to become the new minister of construction, zoning and state assets, Croatian media outlets reported on Tuesday.

The Jutarnji List daily reported that the government had not denied these speculations, and that a source from the government only said that the cabinet would not give any information before a meeting of the ruling coalition’s partners scheduled for noon on Tuesday.

Curaj, a jurist, currently serves as a state secretary in the finance ministry and is a member of the government’s task force for the post-quake reconstruction of Sisak-Moslavina County. His party has only one seat in the parliament.

The previous construction minister, Darko Horvat, resigned on Saturday after he was arrested on the abuse of office charges concerning a case in 2018 when he served as the economy minister.

Until a new minister is appointed, state secretary Dunja Magas will head the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic decided on Monday.