Plenković says opposition has spit on the Constitutional Court

On Friday Croatian Parliament confirmed Mirta Matić as the new President of the Supreme Court, with 120 votes for and two opposed. However, MPs did not confirm any of the three candidates for judges on the Constitutional Court, with the opposition boycotting the vote.

After congratulating Mirta Matić on her election as the President of the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković commented on the opposition's boycott of the vote to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court: "This embarrassment of the SDP and the stain of Možemo, who spat - not on us but on the Constitutional Court. They spat on three professionals. We proposed serious people who are competent, and they spat in the face of Pajalić, Sučević, and even their candidate Selanec. Let those people think carefully about that - including the Constitutional Judges they proposed last year, let them see who nominated them."

The Constitutional Court will now continue to operate with only ten judges, while the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System will call a new public tender.

The Prime Minister, who was on an official visit to Šibenik, also commented on yesterday's expulsion of diplomat Tomislav Lendić from a reception at the Office of the President. According to the President's staff Lendić was expelled over a recent interview in which he accused President Zoran Milanović of being the main culprit for the delay in filling numerous ambassadorial and consular positions in Croatian diplomacy.

"Lendić spoke the truth. Are we supposed to live in a democracy in which seasoned professionals are supposed to remain silent on issues they are asked about by the media so as to avoid offending the person who has been blocking the entire process for the past six years? No. Not according to the way I see democracy. What you saw was an arrogant, rude and exclusive move on Milanović's part," Plenković said.

Lendić was scheduled to participate in a ceremony presenting the credentials of the new apostolic nuncio to President Milanović at the Office of the President.

Source: HRT