BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2020) Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Thursday gave Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party that won the recent parliamentary elections, the mandate to form a new government.
Earlier in the day, Milanovic held a meeting with Plenkovic at his official residence in Zagreb.
"I have Mr. Plenkovich the mandate [to form the government]. He has brought the signatures [of the lawmakers] and the results are clear, we wish him all the best. There are 76 signatures," the president said in a televised statement.
Plenkovic, on his part, said that Croatia faces many challenges, mostly in the sphere of the economy and health care.
"Therefore, our goal is to convene the Sabor [Croatian parliament] as soon as possible. There is an agreement that it will take place on July 22. The vote on confidence in the government will be on Thursday [July 23], and after that there will be the first meeting of the new cabinet," Plenkovic said.
Croatia held the parliamentary elections on July 5. HDZ received 66 seats in the 151-member parliament, while the center-left Restart coalition led by the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) got 41 seats. The Domovinski Pokret (Homeland Movement) led by businessman and popular singer Miroslav Skoro came in third with 16 mandates.
