After RS, "Papak" affair looms in Federation as well

The session of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, where representatives are discussing the new Labour Law, is still ongoing, and began today shortly after 2 PM, reports the Patria news agency.

The adoption of the new Labour Law in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament on Thursday, and the attempt by SDA and their coalition partners to adopt the Labour Law in the House of Representatives the following day, has divided political parties in the Federation of BiH into those who oppose the law and those who want to adopt it at all costs.

A heated debate is underway in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH; only one vote will decide whether the Law is adopted. Given that one SDA representative did not attend the session today, SDA had to compensate for his vote with a vote from the other side, in order to, along with the votes of other coalition partners, maintain the necessary 50 votes required for the Law to be adopted.

Representatives gathered around the parties opposing the Law (SDP, SBB, DF) are increasingly mentioning that the fiftieth vote belongs to Denis Gratz from Our Party, and they have named the entire affair the "papak affair", after the model of the affair that broke out in Republika Srpska last year when it was revealed that the coalition led by SNSD and Milorad Dodik had bought two opposition representatives in the NSRS to form a parliamentary majority.

Gratz rejects the accusations that he is a "papak".

Interestingly, the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Fadil Novalić, announced a few days ago that there was no doubt whether the Law would pass in Parliament, because, as Novalić said, employers would "ensure" the required number of votes.

Sources close to Prime Minister Fadil Novalić told the Patria agency that the Prime Minister boasted in his office that "everything will be fine, because the employers will finish the job", referring to the adoption of the Law.

The same source revealed that "suspicious people" will come to the FBiH Parliament, presenting themselves as employers, and will allegedly offer money just to get the Labour Law passed, writes NAP.