The demand by the centre-left opposition parties in the Croatian parliament on Monday for an early election and the Bridge party's initiative for dissolution of parliament received a lukewarm response from right-wing parties. 

“Croatian Sovereignists are of the view that there should be a radical government reshuffle because this government has lost its legitimacy. If that does not happen, we should not shun away from an early election,” the party’s MP Marijan Pavlicek said while commenting on the demand for an early election following the arrest of Economy Minister Darko Horvat.

He said that an early election was advocated by Social Democratic Party leader Pedja Grbin, who was recently “caught with his hand in the cookie jar” for receiving the family separation allowance and is now “pretending to be a very moral person.”

“What makes him different from those who have been arrested? He is a small-time crook and they are big-time crooks,” Pavlicek said.

“I’m not sure that those aspiring to come to power are much better and that they can promise the Croatian people a change, as shown by their two leaders Bauk and Grbin,” added Milan Vrkljan (For a Just Croatia), adding that such people cannot be guarantors of change.

Independent Hrvoje Zekanovic said: “What I am in favour of is irrelevant. Whatever the quasi-opposition may be predicting and gathering signatures for is irrelevant, because Andrej Plenkovic has a majority in parliament and hence a stable government.”

Asked whether, if necessary, he would be the 77th hand for Plenkovic and the majority led by his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Zekanovic said that he was in the opposition and that he had not discussed this with the prime minister.

Pavlicek said that the Sovereignists would announce their position on Bridge’s initiative on Wednesday, while Vrkljan said that Bridge had not asked anything of them yet.