Zdravko Maric

The government stressed the need to create new jobs and reduce unemployment, and for demographic renewal - which it was planning to assist by offering financial compensation to parents of newborn children.

Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and Central Bank Governor Boris Vujčić urged Croatia to join the European Central Bank's Unified Supervision Mechanism, which is the first step towards joining the eurozone. According to media in Zagreb, the procedure for replacing the Croatian kuna with the euro could happen after five years, Nova TV reported.

Plenkovic has developed a strategy of silence on many of the scandals that have embroiled his own ministers and party colleagues, to good effect, Mamic said.

"If you look at his position, this is effective and efficient communication," she said. "He gives short answers, because obviously the outcome of all these cases could go in any direction."

The HDZ's wafer-thin new majority in the Croatian parliament - 76 out of 151 MPs in total - is likely to be just a temporary strategy employed by the party to push through legislation, with new elections likely to follow, veteran political Zarko Puhovski analyst told BIRN.

The Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, has remained in power after proving it still has a new majority in parliament and naming one of its MPs as the new chair of parliament, thus avoiding snap elections in June.

On Friday, it proved that it still had majority support by voting in HDZ MP Gordan Jandrokovic as the new chair of parliament.

Ahead of talks between President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic and leaders of Croatia's parliamentary parties and MPs on Friday, a resolution to the political crisis in the country is not in sight.

The head of MOST, Bozo Petrov, has resigned from his position as chair of Croatia's parliament after an opposition-backed move to unseat Finance Minister Zdravko Maric narrowly failed on Thursday.

Maric remained in his post after the failure of a no-confidence vote in parliament, when the opposition failed to gather the necessary 76 votes.

After Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic axed three ministers from the junior government party, the Bridge of Independent Lists, MOST, Croatia appear set for political instability and even new elections, possibly in September, a leading politica. analyst told BIRN.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic shook the foundations of his centre-right coalition government on Thursday when he demanded the resignations of three ministers from the junior government party, the Bridge of Independent Lists, MOST.

Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric could become the subject of an investigation by the Commission for Conflict of Interest Prevention after being reported for his ties with Croatia's biggest private company Agrokor, which is currently going through a financial crisis.