Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic called on the State Attorney's Office (DORH) on Saturday to explain Construction Minister Darko Horvat's arrest, finding it disproportionate and the timing odd, adding that the parliamentary majority is stable and that there will be no snap election.

“There is no emergency, no snap election, the focus is on what we have been doing the entire time, and that is to fight for the prosperity of Croatian citizens. We will examine this issue in detail,” Plenković said at an impromptu press conference after the police arrested Horvat and brought him in for questioning on suspicion of abuse of office.

PM expects the state attorney general to address the public

He said DORH was the only one who knew what this was about and that he expected it to explain its actions in the interest of the public and the government.

This isn’t just any case, this is a case in which a minister has been arrested and there is also talk about Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milosevic and Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic, Plenkovic said.

DORH needs to explain this instead of some people who should not be in possession of such information, he said, adding that he expects State Attorney General Zlata Hrvoj Sipek to address the public and explain the urgency of the actions taken.

He is confident that DORH will present firm evidence and reasons for deciding on such a move, which he finds disproportionate considering the case. “But I am sure they are taking account of working legally, without bias, so it’s their duty to inform the public of what they are doing, instead of us doing that.”

Timing of Horvat’s arrest is odd

Plenkovic said the timing of Horvat’s arrest was odd as it occurred in the week when the government adopted a set of measures to buffer the blow of energy price hikes on households and businesses, the arrangement with the president of the European Commission to extend the deadline for spending post-earthquake reconstruction funds, and the parliamentary debate on the agriculture strategy.

“The timing is very telling after such a week, as is such urgency regarding events and alleged crimes that took place in 2018.”
Plenković said the ruling HDZ “does not have its hooks in” DORH and the judiciary, that they were working independently and evidently had their reasons for “such dramatic urgency” and for the arrest of a minister in office.

The prime minister said that if he was in the place of DORH or USKOK, he would certainly consider how such a move could impact public debate, the political situation and context, noting that DORH should be seeing to state interests.

Asked if that meant that judicial institutions are not independent, he said they were certainly independent of the government and the HDZ. “Whether they are independent of someone else, I don’t know. Somebody had a motive for the timing to be now. In my opinion, the timing does not seem neutral.”

Plenkovic said he would call Hrvoj Sipek and ask her what this was about because he felt it was “an unusual move and case.”

Asked if DORH was toppling the government, he said neither DORH nor anyone else would topple it.

Asked why he defended Hrvoj Šipek when President Zoran Milanovic criticised her, Plenkovic said that possibly “they were frightened of him in the system, so in order to prove themselves to him, they are arresting an HDZ minister.”

“They are human too… I agree with Milanović on this,” he said.

Arrested minister can’t remain in the government

Speaking of the political consequences, Plenkovic said he would decide on Horvat’s fate after finding out more about the whole case. The parliamentary majority is stable and there will be no early parliamentary election, he added.

“In any case, if someone is arrested, he can’t be a minister.”

Plenkovic said he spoke to all the members of the parliamentary majority today and that they supported the government. “So, there is nothing extraordinary on the agenda.”

He said he did not speak with Horvat but did with Milosevic and Aladrovic. Their status in the government is the same as for the others, he added.
He also said he would speak to Horvat’s attorney and that he was his sole source of information.