Speaking to reporters in parliament, Djapic said the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) would try to depict the debate about Zuzul's reported conflict of interest as an attack on the government.
Stating that Zuzul should make things easier for the government and resign, Djapic said that competent institutions should voice their position on the case, especially the parliamentary commission on the conflict of interest which he said was not functioning now.
The head of the HSP club of deputies, Miroslav Rozic, called on the diplomatic corps in Croatia to voice their position on the case the way they voiced their position on the possibility of the HSP joining the government after the last parliamentary elections.
Explaining why the HSP did not support the request of the Social Democratic Party, the Peasant Party and the People's Party (HNS) for Zuzul to resign, Djapic said that the HSP "has to take care of its reputation and cannot grant amnesty to individuals in the former government who were perceived by the public as being constantly in conflict of interest".
"We will not protect (senior HNS member Radimir) Cacic and the likes of him," Djapic said.
The HSP's presidential candidate, Slaven Letica, said that the Zuzul case was being used for purposes of the upcoming presidential elections and that incumbent president Stjepan Mesic "is in a panic due to a sudden plunge of his ratings after last week's statement about Croatia having never been at war with Montenegro".