Plenkovic Recall Vote: Opposition Walks Out of Sabor
Part of the opposition left the chamber as the prime minister delivered his annual report, and this afternoon the Sabor debates a Social Democrat motion to recall him over waste in Gospic.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic presented the government’s annual report to the Sabor in Zagreb today, and part of the opposition walked out of the chamber over the affair of illegally dumped waste in Gospic. This afternoon parliament turns to a motion to recall Plenkovic, and the sources did not report an outcome at the time of writing. This is the government of a neighboring country, an EU and NATO member, whose majority also rests on the Homeland Movement, a coalition partner that is speaking in today’s debate about removing monuments and about its attitude toward the SDSS, the party of Croatian Serbs.
It is the tenth such report during Plenkovic’s three terms. The prime minister’s address can run up to an hour and MPs cannot reply to it: only representatives of the 14 parliamentary clubs speak on the report, 20 minutes each, and the prime minister has the right to a closing statement of up to 20 minutes.
Why did the opposition leave the chamber?
At the very start of the session, Social Democrat (SDP) MP Mirela Ahmetovic asked for a break and said her club did not want to take part in what she called “Plenkovic’s show”. According to RTRS, she accused the prime minister of favoring the “mafia” and concluded that for the SDP he is the “weakest link”. Another round of accusations followed between MPs from Most and the ruling HDZ, and then part of the opposition left the chamber. Index reports that three Most MPs turned their backs on the prime minister while he spoke.
Plenkovic opened his speech by attacking the opposition, which he accused of using the Gospic affair for political score settling. He said:
“Those who do this will certainly lose the next elections. I am telling them that very clearly today.”
At the end of his address he returned to the MPs who had left. He thanked, as he put it, the representatives of the left side of the political spectrum who this time, unlike a few years ago, had not physically smashed the Sabor’s furniture:
“So today I thank the representatives of the left side of the political spectrum who, along with a few others, did not this time, as they did a few years ago, destroy the furniture of the Croatian Sabor by banging on it, but only showed who they are and what they are by walking out of today’s debate.”
How many MPs walked out?
Here the sources differ. Klix says part of the MPs left, and Index says part of the left-wing opposition. RTRS writes that most opposition MPs left the chamber and that the prime minister presented his report to a half-empty hall. None of them gives an exact number.
What does the recall motion say?
The SDP filed the motion at the end of September with 54 MPs’ signatures. It has eight points and cites 37,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste in Gospic, in the Lika region. It also mentions suspicions of corruption linked to former chief state inspector Andrija Mikulic. Recalling the prime minister requires 76 votes in the 151-seat Sabor, and DOMiNO and the Croatian Sovereignists did not sign the motion. Sabor Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic told reporters before the session: “Only 54 MPs signed this initiative.”
SDP MP Mihael Zmajlovic said on HRT that he does not expect the motion to pass, but that the SDP is seeking political responsibility for a system, not for a single incident: “You do not have to be criminally liable to be politically responsible.”
Most leader Nikola Grmoja, whose party backed the motion, said in the Sabor: “The prime minister told us that he has nothing to do with the dangerous waste in Lika.” Mozemo MP Sandra Bencic added that an analysis had already shown in 2024 that the waste is hazardous:
“An analysis showed you back in 2024 that the waste is hazardous, and for two years you kept that from the public.”
On HRT, Grmoja answered claims that the case is local in nature with the words: “This is spitting in the face of the people of Lika.” The HDZ rejects the motion. Deputy club chair Josip Boric called it a political construct and announced that the HDZ will raise the question of Zmajlovic’s term at the head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection during the debate.
In his report, Plenkovic said the waste from Gospic will be removed and that measurements do not show any threat to the water supply.
What else did the prime minister announce?
The one-off benefit for a newborn, currently 618 euros, rises to 800 euros next year, with a goal of 1,000 euros by the end of the term. The government is also preparing amendments to the Criminal Code: life imprisonment for the gravest offenses, supervision of the most dangerous offenders after they serve their sentences, tougher penalties for deliberately setting fires, and ecocide as a separate criminal offense.
What does the Homeland Movement say about the coalition?
Homeland Movement Secretary General Mladen Barac said the Gospic case will not endanger the ruling majority: “The coalition is stable.” He ruled out joint government with the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), as well as helping a coalition of the SDP and Mozemo come to power. Among the results of the party’s time in government he listed the removal of monuments that he claims glorified Greater Serbian aggression, the creation of a commission on communist crimes, and plans for a commemoration in Macelj.
The recall debate is scheduled for this afternoon. The sources do not give the exact time of the vote.
