The pressure was becoming to strong, and it had to come to the resignation of Croatia’s ex Economy Minister, the leader of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), Milorad Pupovac, told the local Express newspaper.

Croatia’s ex Minister of Economy, Small and Medium Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Martina Dalic, stepped down from the position on Monday after a scandal that erupted over e-mails showing how a law on the Agrokor conglomerate’s state-appointment management was drafted.

The scandal started last week, after Index.hr portal published Dalic’s private corespondence, revealing that consultants and lawyers from the private sector had worked on the drafting of the controversial piece of legislation on the state-appointed emergency administration without the knowledge of the wider public.

“The coalition partners are obligated to maintain the stability and political credibility of the Government. With this in mind, some of the partners, among them the SDSS, thought that what has to be done, has to be done,” the SDSS leader said.

“We would have liked it if it would have never came to that, but the pressure was becoming to strong and it was a move that had to be made,” Pupovac told Express.

Top officials from the largest opposition party, the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), called for an early election over the scandal.

“The opposition sometimes needs to say things it does not believe itself in too much,” Pupovac said.

“Surely there are many who speak about ‘elections’ and ‘resignation of the Government’ now, while they are praying for that not to happen. Except for those who have prepared or are preparing themselves to take over the government, but who have a questionable background which is not political, but of a different nature,” he said.

When asked who it is he was speaking of, Pupovac said it was “those who hide behind their critique of the policies, while they themselves actually have very non-transparent and dangerous political goals,” the ’24 sata’ news portal reported.