Opposition says governments efforts in Gospić are too little too late

On Monday opposition parties MOST and the SDP announced plans to force a vote of no-confidence in the Plenković Government over the illegal landfill in Gospić. Politicians took a strong interest in the Gospić debacle after an expert report indicated that so-called ‘forever chemicals’ and heavy metals had been found downstream of the illegal landfill.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, SDP Party President Siniša Hajdaš Dončić stood firm on his announced plans to call for a vote of no-confidence in the HDZ-led coalition government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. He also called out the prime minister for cowardly behavior in pushing responsibility for the hazardous waste crisis onto the opposition: "Instead of acting like a responsible Prime Minister and admitting publicly: OK, we made a mistake. But here's our plan to fix the problem, Plenković blames the opposition for his garbage. This is surreal. We're not talking about three tons of garbage; we're talking about 37 thousand tons of garbage that someone transported into Croatia. And do you know why they transported it into Croatia? Because, they consider Croatia to be a banana republic, a country with no order, no laws and no institutions. A country ruled by the mafia."

His position was backed by Možemo MP Sandra Benčić: "Our first demand is that they begin with the remediation immediately. The fact that they waited a year and a half to initiate a public tender is their problem. Now they can assume responsibility, pick companies, and begin the remediation immediately. Secondly, we want a permanent ban on the import of garbage for which Croatia does not have the ability to process. Plenković today justified the situation by saying that Croatia does not have the capacity to process this waste. Someone should ask him how permits were issued allowing that to happen. And finally, we want the dissolution of this government and new elections."

Earlier in the day MOST called a meeting to which they invited everyone all benches in Parliament, including the HDZ, however, no one responded to their call. MOST Party President Nikola Grmoja: "We just wanted to ask them one question: How could you betray your own voters? It is clear that it is difficult for them to confront that truth, and it is clear that it is not easy for them to come to such a meeting. But we did expect the rest of the opposition to respond. For our part we will attend the session of the committee in Gospić."

Prior to the meeting Centar Party President Marijana Puljak explained why she would not attend MOST's meeting: "We will not attend MOST's meeting given that they also called the HDZ club of deputies. We have no interest in fixing the HDZ; we are interested in removing the HDZ from power and fixing Croatia. We will attend every meeting that will hold a serious discussion about removing the HDZ from power. Not replacing this government with another HDZ government, but removing the HDZ altogether. These are the kinds of meetings we are interested in and the kinds we are constantly calling for."

Source: HRT