Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Josip Dabro has resigned “for moral reasons” after a video surfaced showing him shooting a firearm from the window of a moving car while singing to loud music. The video, which went viral, prompted a public outcry.
“I hereby submit my irrevocable resignation,” Dabro posted on Facebook, attempting to explain the clip by saying it was filmed years ago and that he was using training rounds.
The video, which was released earlier this week, shows Dabro sitting in the passenger seat of a moving car, singing along to loud music and firing a pistol into the darkness. The distant lights in the footage seem to indicate an inhabited area.
“I am aware that this situation creates an additional burden for the government and my party,” he wrote in his resignation statement.
“As a responsible person and public official, I believe that my personal situation should not distract attention from the government’s main priorities and sector,” Dabro added.
He claimed that the video was filmed before he held any government position and that its release was a political attack from a former friend turned rival.
The leader of his party, Ivan Penava, said in a press conference that the video “was private and sent to people Dabro thought were his friends… At no point did he endanger anyone’s life.”
Dabro is a senior member of the nationalist right-wing party, Homeland Movement, in coalition with the center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
Plenković’s office confirmed that Dabro was asked to resign on Friday evening and would be dismissed from his position today.
