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2 Croatian officials refuse to resign as PM demanded

Xinhua, June 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Two Croatian deputy prime ministers on Friday afternoon rejected Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic's call for both of them to resign.

First Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko, also the president of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the biggest party in the ruling coalition, said he would not resign as demanded earlier in the day by Oreskovic.

Oreskovic said he no longer enjoyed the HDZ's trust, adding "I think Oreskovic should resign. We should draw a line and reset the situation."

Meanwhile, Bozo Petrov, deputy prime minister and the leader of MOST, a junior coalition partner, said he was ready to step down if it would help stabilize the situation in the country.

But MOST still insisted on Karamarko's resignation, Petrov said.

Earlier in the day, Oreskovic told a news conference that he had urged his deputies, Karamarko and Petrov, to step down as their relations had become too big a burden for his government and the country.

He said the government could continue its reform program after their resignation.

The Croatian parliament is set for a no-confidence vote over Karamarko's alleged conflict of interest over his wife's business dealings with a contractor for Hungary's oil company MOL before June 18. Endit