Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday confirmed the appointment of two new government ministers, Davor Filipović and Marin Piletić, as well as Anja Šimpraga as new Deputy Prime Minister.
Šimpraga, a member of parliament from the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), was supported by 77 MPs as Deputy PM for social affairs and human rights. Fifty-one MPs voted against her appointment.
Davor Filipović, an associate professor at the Zagreb Faculty of Economics, was appointed Economy and Sustainable Development Minister with the support of 77 MPs while 50 voted against.
The nomination of HDZ MP and Novska Mayor Marin Piletić as Labour, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy Minister was backed by 77 lawmakers while 49 voted against it.
After the vote, the new ministers were sworn in, after which Speaker Gordan Jandroković congratulated them and the parliament welcomed their appointment with a round of applause.
The Opposition said before the vote that the appointment of the new ministers was not a government reshuffle but a case of "undermining the state institutions and democracy", an attempt to "decriminalise the government", a "cosmetic change", and any attempt to maintain the coalition that was based on trade-offs.