Following the arrest of Health Minister Vili Beros on Friday morning and his dismissal by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, opposition MPs said that the prime minister of any normal country would resign after a number of his ministers were replaced on suspicion of corruption.

“We should all hope that European Public Prosecutor Laura Kövesi’s health will stay with her for a long time, because this latest case is further proof that without the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, investigations like this one would not be launched, arrests like this one would not be made and ministers would not be replaced,” said Centre Party MP Marijana Puljak.

Puljak: Plenkovic must have known about the planned arrest

Apparently, you need a microscope to find an honest HDZ party member in Croatia, Puljak said, alluding to the fact that the EPPO accuses Beros of accepting bribes for the procurement of microscopes.

Commenting on the fact that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic dismissed Beros immediately after the news of his arrest was published, Puljak said that Plenkovic must have known about the planned arrest.

“Dozens of ministers have left Andrej Plenkovic’s governments, and in any normal country this would also lead to the resignation of the prime minister,” she said.

Other opposition MPs were of the same opinion.

Oreskovic: We have a problem with the mafia, which has infiltrated numerous institutions

“This is already the second minister in office to be arrested. This shows that organised crime persists in the government itself,” said Dalija Oreskovic, MP for the DOSIP party.

“There is not a single normal country where the prime minister would remain in office in such a case. We have a problem with the mafia, which has infiltrated numerous institutions and processes of managing public funds, and as far as Beros is concerned, this seems to be just the tip of the compromising information,” she added.

Something is very wrong in this country, said GLAS party MP Anka Mrak-Taritas.

“We have been warning about all the problems for many years and then we have a second situation where a minister of this government is arrested, which is disastrous, nobody can feel comfortable in this country,” she said.

SDP: We will initiate proceedings to impeach the prime minister and the government

Sasa Djujic, SDP party MP, said the novelty of the latest case was that Beros was the first official in recent times who had not resigned before being arrested: “For four years we have been warning about… Scandals involving the minister and have been seeking his replacement, but to no avail,” he said, adding that Beros’ arrest showed that once again the EPPO had to act first and the State Attorney’s office was lagging behind.

His party colleague Misel Jaksic said that the SDP would put forward a motion for the impeachment of the prime minister and his government.

Ivana Kekin, member of parliament for the Mozemo party, said that the case showed the HDZ’s decades-long strategy of destroying the healthcare system.

Kekin: Primorac embodies everything that is bad in the healthcare system

“They have destroyed it in such a way that no one but them will be able to get treatment. But this is just a drop in the ocean. Before his arrest, Beros caused great damage to the healthcare system by putting it in the hands of private healthcare providers close to the HDZ and denying responsibility for all the mistakes,” she said.

Commenting on Prime Minister Plenkovic’s statement that he felt personally betrayed by Beros, Kekin said she was not surprised and that the health system and the HDZ were riddled with corruption.

“The prime minister reacted promptly, it remains to be seen who will replace Beros. I have no expectations, but considering that Dragan Primorac will not be president and that he embodies everything that is bad in the healthcare system, perhaps the prime minister will consider him a good choice,” Kekin said.