"As for the opposition, there's nothing new. We have seen it all before -- two years of obstruction and idleness in Parliament. Many opposition MPs, including their chief, take the liberty of not attending sessions of Parliament and of doing nothing and they get paid for it," Kosor said in response to questions from reporters at a press conference in Marija Bistrica, 30 kilometres north of Zagreb, where she attended a pilgrimage of war veterans and their families.

Kosor said that the opposition had not voted for key laws for the completion of EU accession negotiations. "As far as the opposition is concerned, we would never have finished the negotiations," she added.

When asked if Parliament would conclude its autumn sitting in a dignified fashion, she said it would. "The governing majority is compact, and all key bills and decisions will be passed. I don't see any reason for concern here."

Kosor said that the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Vladimir Seks, had the strength to apologise, which no one had ever done. "I don't know why you don't ask (Social Democratic Party leader) Zoran Milanovic whether he will apologise, together with his buddy Zeljko Jovanovic, for what they have said about the HDZ. Do they have the strength to apologise? They don't, because they don't have the courage and that's the fundamental difference between us. They're not fighting corruption, while we are."