Deputy Prime Minister, Damir Polancec, resigns

He submitted his irrevocable resignation to spare the prime minister from deciding whether to keep him or not, said Polancec.

I am leaving because I do not want to harm the government and the coalition, former Prime Minister Deputy and Economy Minister, Damir Polancec, said at a press conference.

- I gave an irrevocable resignation because I wanted to spare the Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor from deciding whether to keep me in her team or not, he told the gathered reporters.

Who is blushing?

In fact, Polancec said that he submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister two days ago, but he waited to see reactions from the public.

- I have deliberately kept all the uncertainty, because I wanted to see reactions from the public figures. I hope that some people will blush after this conference - added Polancec.

The deputy government spokesman, Martin Banic, confirmed information that the Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister, Damir Polancec, resigned today.

- It's true, Polancec resigned today and the Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has accepted the resignation - Banic said in a telephone statement.

Why did Polancec have to go?

Polancec’s resignation has been expected for some time, and it is obvious that it has something to do with the new information concerning the Podravka scandal.

Recall, Polancec’s resignation was demanded by the opposition consisting of SDP, IDS and HNS parties. Polancec is a suspect in the Podravka affair in which managers tried to buy a quarter of Podravka’s shares using company’s money.  

Because of the scandal, investigative prison in Remetinec is currently occupied by the former Podravka CEO Zdravko Sestak, and members of the board, Josip Pavlovic and Saša Romac. The same prison is the current residence for the former President of the Board and the NO meber, Darko Marinac, director of FIMA Varazdin, Milan Horvat, who intended to use the same model to overtake the Postbank in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the director of Split's SMS, Srdjan Mladinić.

Sources close to the HDZ’s leadership claim that Demir Polancec’s fate has been a main topic of several party meetings.  Current outcome is still favorable for the HDZ since the campaign launched by their presidential candidate, Andrija Hebrang, was suffering because of the Polancec affair.

Because current polls show that Hebrang chances of entering the second round of presidential elections are slim, the HDZ has agreed to resolve any situations that may tarnish HDZ’s reputation.

Polancec’s resignation is expected to, at least partially, improve HDZ’s public image and improve Hebrang’s chances. However, the greatest HDZ damage would still be the option that Hebrang falls out of the second presidential round, which unfortunately, is still quite feasible.