November 2 (SeeNews) - Croatia's opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) has submitted a motion to parliament for a no-confidence vote in the coalition government over the way it has handled the financial crisis in the country's largest company, Agrokor, SDP leader Davor Bernardic said on Thursday.
So far, 31 MP's have backed the motion, Bernardic told the media in Zagreb. His statement was aired live by broadcaster HRT.
The no-confidence motion needs 76 votes to pass. The vote is expected to take place in the next 30 days.
"SDP wants to untangle the corruption octopus, the conspiracy and cesspool, in which the Plenkovic cabinet has found itself because of the Agrokor case", Bernardic said. "The no-confidence vote will reveal whose hands are clean and who is in the cesspool."
Bernardic claimed that prime minister Andrej Plenkovic and his ruling party HDZ have allowed an unnamed "vulture fund" to gain a majority in the council of creditors of Agrokor and to become a co-owner of the concern's assets.
In June, Agrokor signed a roll-up loan arrangement of up to 1.06 billion euro ($1.2 billion) with over 30 creditors, including foreign investment funds and banks, to maintain operations during a period of restructuring period under extraordinary administration.
"We are against Agrokor going into bankruptcy, but we are also against the siphoning of money, we are against a vulture fund managing Agrokor and the non-transparent processes that are taking place," Bernardic said.
The debt crisis in Croatia's largest conglomerate, which employs some 60,000 people throughout the region, has stirred political turbulence in the country.
The previous government coalition consisting of HDZ and their junior partner, centre-right MOST party, fell apart earlier this year after MOST's ministers were sacked from the government for refusing to support finance minister, Zdravko Maric, against whom the opposition had filed a no-confidence motion.
SDP sought the vote of no-confidence in Maric over his handling of the crisis in Agrokor, his former place of employment. The no-confidence motion was also backed by MOST and its leader, Bozo Petrov. Maric narrowly survived the vote and Petrov resigned from the post of parliament speaker.
After the HDZ-MOST government coalition fell apart, HDZ formed a new one - with liberal People's Party, HNS.