ZAGREB, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Croatian government survived a no-confidence vote early Saturday after 14 hours of parliamentary debate, the European country's national television reported.
In the 151-seat parliament, 78 members supported the center-right government, while 59 voted against it.
The voting was initiated by the biggest opposition party, the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), which demanded new elections because of the government's handling of a debt crisis at Agrokor, the biggest private company in the country.
The state-appointed management tried to transform and revive the company, which ran up a debt of 57.7 billion kuna (8.8 billion U.S. dollars), while the opposition alleged the whole process of restructuring lacked transparency and favored some creditors.
SDP President Davor Bernardic said this was a defeat for Croatia after the parliament vote.
"The notion that political corruption, trading and buying mandates, suspicious partnerships and secret deals behind closed doors can survive in Croatia is a defeat of a normal democratic country," Bernardic said.
After the parliamentary debate Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said his government was protecting the national interest, the economy, the stability of the financial system and jobs.
After Agrokor, a private food and retail group, was hit by a debt crisis in January, the parliament introduced an emergency law that enabled the state to take over the management of the company.
The new management did an in-depth financial revision that revealed murky dealings and hidden debts, leading to the state prosecutor beginning a preliminary investigation into the former management.
Agrokor's founder and owner Ivica Todoric, suspected of white-collar crime, turned himself in to British police Tuesday after he was put on the list of Europe's most wanted fugitives.
He was released on a bail Wednesday and is awaiting extradition.
