Opposition MPs on Tuesday criticized the ruling majority's proposal to appoint Ivan Paladina as the new Minister of Construction to replace Darko Horvat, who resigned after becoming involved in a graft probe last month.

MPs accused the 39-year-old Paladina for nurturing “close ties to Russian oligarchs,” which they said “makes him vulnerable to blackmail.” Paladina had served for three years as CEO of a major Zagreb-based construction company IGH, from 2015 to 2018, during the time when Russian businessman, Sergey Glyadelkin, directly owned a majority stake in the company.

Opposition MPs said that by nominating Paladina, the ruling HDZ led by Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, was trying to dodge responsibility for the fumbled reconstruction effort after two powerful quakes had hit Croatia in 2020.

MP Sandra Bencic (Green-Left Bloc) told reporters that the idea to appoint Paladino showed that PM Andrej Plenkovic has not only made bad personnel choices, but also that Paladina is “in a clear case of conflict of interest, because he managed the Kupari company, which was supposed to invest in a former hotel complex whose demolition was opposed by Croatian architects – who demanded its preservation instead.”

After 2018 Paladina and Glyadelkin were involved in a company which sought to re-develop a large tourist resort in Kupari in southern Croatia. Originally built for the Yugoslav People’s Army, the resort – housed in what is considered one of the best examples of Croatian modernist architecture – was largely devastated during the 1991-95 war and left to rot. Efforts to revive the resort – which involved ideas about tearing down the buildings – were hampered by opposition from local architects.

“Paladina is in a conflict of interest even before taking office, which is a classic example of HDZ’s staffing policy,” MP Katarina Peovic (Workers’ Front) said.

“It’s difficult for PM Plenkovic to find a person for any minister post who has not been compromised in some way… this shows that not everyone wants to be in a relationship with HDZ because people judge you by the company you keep,” MP Marijana Puljak (Center) said.

“HDZ has evidently decided not to actually deal with reconstruction, but instead looked for a minister to shift all the blame to, so this time they have opted for a manager,” Anka Mrak-Taritas (Glas) said.

Local media reported that although Paladina is not a card-carrying member of HDZ he is considered “close to the party.”

MP Nikola Grmoja (Most) said that his party group had already started referring to Paladina as “Vanyushka” because of his alleged ties with Russians.

Nevertheless, the 151-seat Parliament is expected to confirm the appointment on Wednesday, backed by votes from HDZ MPs and junior coalition members who command a thin majority in the national legislature.