Feuds Weaken Croatia's Troubled Opposition Party

Rows inside Croatia's strongest opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, SDP, have continued after the party removed two prominent MPs from their positions as deputy chair of parliament and as president of the parliamentary committee for labour, pension system and social partnership.

Mirando Mrsic, one of the removed members, a former Labour and Pension System Minister in the government led by Zoran Milanovic, told BIRN that the party had moved him his post as committee president owing to his "responsibility for the [party's] bad results in the general and local elections".

"This is complete nonsense," he said, adding that SDP leader Davor Bernardic "should be held accountable for the results, [and] he should do the only moral thing and resign, after the party saw its lowest popularity in years.

"We've been cast away despite our good work in parliament and the party because we questioned and criticised Bernardic's leadership," he said.

"No strong leader tackles criticism like this. It as if he believes: 'SDP, that is me,'" he said, referring to King Louis XIV of France's alleged remark: "l'état, c'est moi."

Besides mentioning that the SDP club met while he was outside of the country, preventing him from saying something in his defence, Mrsic said he would continue to do his job as an MP.

Milanka Opacic, the former Social Policy and Youth Minister, who will be moved from the position of deputy chair of parliament, did not respond to BIRN's inquiries.

The SDP Presidency voted on Tuesday to propose removing Mrsic and Opacic from their posts to the parliamentary party club, which confirmed the decision on Wednesday.

Opacic and Mrsic have both been critical of Bernardic's leadership and have claimed that...