SDP files motion of no confidence against Andrej Plenković's government

The largest opposition party in the Croatian Parliament, SDP, announced today the submission of a motion of no confidence against the Government, for which they have so far gathered 31 signatures, reports Tportal, agency Patria reports.

Since the new session of Parliament is scheduled for next Wednesday, and at least seven days must pass from the submission of the motion to the debate according to the rules of procedure, the debate on confidence in the Government cannot take place before next Thursday.

- We will submit the signatures and the motion of no confidence against the Government on Thursday, in order to eliminate the possibility of it being debated on the same day as the current affairs question time - said the head of the SDP club, Arsen Bauk.

Current affairs question time, which is held at the beginning of each new session, should take place next Wednesday. Given that the issue of confidence in the Government is immediately included in the agenda according to the rules of procedure, the SDP members want to avoid it being debated in a fast-track procedure, i.e., on a day when the current affairs could overshadow the debate on impeachment.

Since the parliamentary rules of procedure stipulate that the debate cannot take place before a minimum of seven days have passed since its submission to the procedure, the SDP members will most likely submit the motion today. This tactic was also announced on Tuesday at a press conference in Rijeka by the Vice-President of SDP, Zlatko Komadina.

- According to my insider information in SDP, and I know something about it, the motion will be submitted next week on Thursday. The signatures have been collected, but this item should not overshadow Wednesday, because Wednesday is the current affairs session in the Croatian Parliament, which Prime Minister Plenković will also attend, and then, very likely, based on what I have heard, this initiative will be submitted on Thursday - said Komadina.

According to the parliamentary rules of procedure, the debate and vote of confidence must be held no later than 30 days from the date the proposal is submitted to Parliament. Likewise, the Government is obliged to respond to the motion within eight days of the proposal being included in the agenda.

SDP has so far collected 31 signatures of deputies for its initiative, exactly the number required by the rules of procedure for such an initiative. The signatures come from all opposition parties, except for the Independent List for Croatia.