After parliament president Vladimir Seks refused the opposition's request to order a break so that parliamentary committees could discuss the stand-by arrangement, which would then be discussed by the parliament, the opposition accused the HDZ and the government of ignoring a previous agreement so as to hide their mistakes.
They dismissed Seks' explanation that the debate was postponed because the HDZ majority agreed with the government's position that the debate would be held once all material about negotiations with the IMF, which was being prepared by the government, was collected.
"This is an attempt to hide from the public what they signed, and they signed an arrangement that is detrimental and that will hamper Croatia's development," Zlatko Tomcic of the HSS told reporters.
He explained that the planned development policy, to which the HDZ-led government is bound under the new arrangement and which is based on a 3.5 percent GDP growth rate in the next two years, prevents any aspect of development and the solution of burning issues.
Milanka Opacic of the SDP, too, believes that the ruling majority is boycotting the debate.
"It is sad that the debate about the IMF is not the government's priority because that means that the government does not consider it important to discuss restrictions in the health system, the cancellation of tax benefits, and the assumed obligation to discuss a fund for the return of the state debt to pensioners with the IMF without the parliament," Opacic said.
Dragutin Lesar of the HNS criticised the government for failing to respect the parliament's conclusion under which the arrangement with the IMF would be signed only after it was discussed by the parliament.