Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak survived a no-confidence vote on Friday, with 55 members of the 151-seat parliament voting for this opposition-sponsored motion, 21 short of the necessary majority.

After the vote, parliament speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said that 55 MPs voted for Divjak’s resignation, one MP abstained from voting and 77 MPs voted against the motion initiated by the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Before the vote, SDP leader Davor Bernardic reiterated his criticism of Minister Divjak, saying she was responsible for the longest strike in the education system, held in October and November 2019.

Deputies from the Croatian People’s Party (HNS), which nominated Divjak to this position, defended the minister, saying she had managed to implement the educational reform.

The government previously dismissed the motion signed by 31 opposition MPs led by the SDP. The opposition demanded a no-confidence vote in Divjak because of the situation in the education system, the non-implementation of the education reform and her responsibility for the longest teachers’ strike in Croatia.

Explaining the reasons for rejecting the opposition’s proposal, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told parliament on Wednesday evening that during the term of his government the Science and Education Ministry’s budget had increased from 13.8 billion kuna (€1.85 billion) to 18.6 billion kuna (€2.50 billion) and that 40 new curricula had been introduced.