February 6, 2021 – The legendary Canadian actor Christopher Plummer has died. In his most famous role, he played Zadar-born naval commander Georg von Trapp in 'The Sound Of Music'

The legendary Canadian actor Christopher Plummer has died aged 91. He passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family and friends, following a fall. In a seven-decade-long career, he came to be regarded as one of the greatest actors in the world. In his most famous role, he played the Zadar-born naval commander Georg von Trapp in 'The Sound Of Music'.

Born on 13 December 1929 in Toronto, Christopher Plummer grew up in Senneville, Quebec. He initially established himself as an actor on the stage and although he famously moved into film acting, he frequently returned to the theatre and also acted for television.

Christopher Plummer was the oldest actor in the world to receive an Oscar. He received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 82 for a role in the Mike Mills film 'Beginners' (2010), in which he played opposite Croatian Goran Višnjić. He became the oldest actor to receive a nomination for an Oscar, aged 88, for the film 'All the Money in the World'.

Goran Višnjić and Christopher Plummer in Mike Mills' 'Beginners' (2010). Christopher Plummer received an Academy Award for the role © Olympus Pictures

Christopher Plummer was one of a very small number of actors to have won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Tony Award. In America, this achievement is known as the Triple Crown Of Acting. Christopher Plummer is the only Canadian actor to have achieved this. Among his many decorations, he earned an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a British Academy Film Award.

Christopher Plummer's life as a famous actor began when he was in his early 20s. In 1953, he took a major theatre role in French playwright André Roussin's 'Nina'. He debuted both on Broadway and on television in the same year, the latter within a production of 'Othello'. He continued to be cast for roles in Shakespeare plays throughout the 1950s and subsequent decades. He earned his second Emmy nomination in 1964 for 'Hamlet'.

In 1958, Christopher Plummer's film career began when he played a young writer in Sidney Lumet's 'Stage Struck'. He played the Roman emperor Commodus in Anthony Mann's epic 'The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). One year later, he appeared in a role that would make him famous forever all over the world.

Christopher Plummer in the Roman epic 'The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) © Paramount Pictures

Although he later had misgivings about the role, Christopher Plummer's depiction of Zadar-born, Rijeka-trained Naval commander Georg von Trapp in 'The Sound Of Music' (1966) ensured he would be recognised globally for his talent. The film received five Academy Awards and was so popular that many returned to the cinema time and again to watch it. It became the highest-grossing film of all time, eclipsing 'Gone With The Wind' which had held the title for 25 years!

Having conquered Broadway, he set his sights instead on European theatre and moved to London in the mid-1960s. He enjoyed simultaneously a successful stage and film career, appearing in several famous movies about the Second World War and was consistently hired for theatre roles by some of the leading directors of the day, including Laurence Olivier, Jonathan Miller, and Neil Simon.

In the 1970s the list of Christopher Plummer's blockbuster appearances included 'Waterloo' (1970), as the Duke of Wellington, 'The Man Who Would Be King' (1975), as Rudyard Kipling and 'The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). In 1975, he appeared as Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the movie 'The Day That Shook the World', directed by Croatian-Montenegrin filmmaker Veljko Bulajić.

Christopher Plummer as Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the movie 'The Day That Shook the World', directed by Croatian-Montenegrin filmmaker Veljko Bulajić © American International Pictures

In 1977, Christopher Plummer starred in the then-monumental television miniseries 'Jesus of Nazareth', playing King Herod alongside Laurence Olivier, James Earl Jones, Robert Powell, Anne Bancroft, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, Peter Ustinov, and James Mason. He repeated his television success in 1983, taking a lead role in the five-time Emmy Award-winning series 'The Thorn Birds.'

Christopher Plummer was one of the rare actors whose fame and abilities never dwindled. He only ever seemed to get better and more popular. He remained in-demand as a film actor until his death, with a neverending list of successful film endeavours from the last three deacdes including 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' (1991), Spike Lee's 'Malcolm X' (1992), Stephen King's 'Dolores Claiborne' (1995), Terry Gilliam's '12 Monkeys' (1995), Michael Mann's 'The Insider' (1999), Nuremberg (2000), Ron Howard's 'A Beautiful Mind' (2001), Oliver Stone's 'Alexander (2004), Terrence Malick's 'The New World' (2005), Spike Lee's 'Inside Man' (2006), the Disney/Pixar classic 'Up' (2009), 'The Last Station' (2009) playing Leo Tolstoy, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (2011), 'Beginners' (2011), Nazi/Holocaust thriller 'Remember' (2015), Ridley Scott's 'All the Money in the World' (2017) as John Paul Getty and in the universally acclaimed, Agatha Christie-inspired 'Knives Out' (2019).

Christopher Plummer (left) and Martin Landau as Auschwitz survivors in Atom Egoyan’s Nazi/Holocaust thriller 'Remember' (2015) © eOne

Christopher Plummer married three times but had only one child, a daughter, the actress Amanda Plummer. She is a Tony winner, like her father, is famous for her role in Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' and is a frequent visitor to Croatia – she is friends with Rade Šerbedžija and his wife Lenka Udovički and appeared in the filmed workshop, 'Core Sample - Goli Otok' with Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave at Šerbedžija and Udovički's open-air theatre in the Brijuni islands.

Following the announcement of his death, Christopher Plummer's 'The Sound of Music' co-star Julie Andrews paid tribute to him, stating "The world has lost a consummate actor today and I have lost a cherished friend. I treasure the memories of our work together and all the humor and fun we shared through the years."

The world of theatre and film were united in their praise and mourning for the star, with other tributes coming from Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Crowe, Katherine Langford, Rian Johnson, Chris Evans, Don Johnson (who worked with him on Knives Out), Elijah Wood, Vera Farmiga, Ed Asner as well as his longtime friend and former Shakesperian understudy William Shatner.

Lou Pitt, Christopher Plummer's longtime friend and manager of 46 years, said; “Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self-deprecating humor and the music of words. He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will be with us forever. ”

February 6, 2021 - Is it possible to be a foreigner living in Croatia with a positive experience if you are not a millionaire or running away from something at home? What happened when a contented Dutchman wrote about 20 reasons why Croatia is a great place to live. 

The longer I live here, the more I begin to understand things (although it would take a foreigner ten lifetimes to completely understand all the quirks of living in Croatia). Once I came out of my happy Hvar tourism bubble and figured out more or less how Croatia works, I could better understand why locals were so skeptical of enthusiastic foreigners talking about Croatia as the best place to live. Easy to say if you are living on the coast with access to Daddy's credit card, with no understanding of the daily grind people go through here to survive. 

The majority of foreigners simply do not get even close to the true Croatian experience, and many are often surprised that so many young Croats are emigrating. It took me about 15 years living here until I fully grasped the true picture of the realities of living in Croatia. Which might seem a long time, but it probably not, and not that many foreigners stick around that long to figure things out. As I wrote a couple of years ago, there are 3 Stages of Learning for Foreigners in Croatia: Love, Hate & Nirvana.

The standard response to a foreigner talking positively about living in Croatia is almost always dismissive. It is easy to enjoy life in Croatia if you have millions, or there must be a suspicious reason why the foreigner has chosen to live here when all are emigrating - clearly they are running from something back home. 

I am genuinely in awe of the creativity of all the theories I have read about my status here in Croatia, and the reasons for me moving here and deciding to stay. Apparently I am retired and independently weatlhy, was forced to leave the UK, and I run at least 8 of the major intelligence agencies including the CIA, FSB and Mossad. 

The possibility that I decided to leave my own country for a different experience, buy a house on one of the world's most beautiful islands as a base, then meet my future wife on that island and decide to live and work in a country with an incredible lifestyle, start my own business and work harder than I ever had before to support that lifestyle, is simply impossible. 

For it doesn't fit the narrative many people have framed about living in Croatia. 

A couple of days ago, I did an article about a Dutchman who has lived in rural Croatia for almost 8 years with his family. Although I have yet to meet Rene Pronk in person, he sounds like one of the most contented people in this country, and his article 20 Reasons Why Croatia is the Best Place for Living gave some insights into why he is such a happy man. 

It didn't take long for the reaction to come.

Was Rene running away from something back home? Was he fabulously wealthy and could live independently forever? What were his suspicious motives for moving to Croatia?

I decided to ask him. 

This was his reply.

During the civil war in Croatia I was able to visit the country a few times. At that time I was working for a humanitarian relief organisation and we organized regular transports of goods bound for Zagreb. That was way back in the early nineties. 

It wasn't until 2003 that I had the possibility to go back to Croatia. I had purchased myself a small mobile home (caravan)  and I decided to cruise the countryside of Slavonia. In expectancy of finding a campsite, I quickly got disillusioned. I ended up in a little village called Cigoc the European stork village. I was introduced to Bosnian families who fled the terror of war in their own land. They told me about their dream to build an old traditional wooden guest house. I helped them write their business plan and started to collect micro credits for this project. In 2008 the place called Tradicije Cigoc was opened and it became one of the first successful rural tourist attractions in continental Croatia. Ever since that time I fell in love with this country. In spite of all the problems with bureaucracy and some jealous people in that village, a dream was born in my heart. 

When I got married in 2011 with my wife Helga we started to talk about a future abroad. My wife lived in many countries all around the globe and has a degree in the Russian and German language. She works as a translator and an online teacher. I wanted to develop myself more and more as a photographer. My wife had a preference to move to Ukraine but a war broke out in 2012 so we decided we would move to Croatia. We both had savings and sold our house in Germany, where we lived in those days.  We could live a couple of years from our reserves. 

Our ambition has always been to provide for our own income. I started working as a photographer and my wife as a translator and teacher. We also tried a souvenir shop in Slunj and cooperate with several hotels and National Parks that sell my photo souvenirs. We also started a humanitarian relief foundation that is focused on helping the isolated elderly people in Croatia (you can read this TCN feature story from a few years ago - Who Helps Croatia's Lonely, Isolated Old People? Meet Proplan from Holland.

(Rene's wife and son visiting the isolated elderly in 2017)

We rent a holiday house in Samobor that we are now putting for sale. For four years we tried to develop a village tourism project in a lovely little village in the Zumberak Nature Park. Four years ago we came to the conclusion this would cost us another 20 years before all paperwork was realized so we sold that place and moved to Bosiljevo. Slowly but surely I am working here on accommodation for guests and a place for lectures and workshops. 

This is where we live now and where I run my art gallery. 

I know the common complaint of many Croats is that foreigner owns more money and for them, life is easier. I worked hard all my life and haven't slowed down. We earn less money than in Holland but have a much better and fulfilled life here. We came across many obstacles in this country and dealt with bureaucracy, jealousy and corruption. But we still love to live here. If you want I can write you how I deal with the negativity default in this country. There is a vaccine for the negativity virus and those who train themselves become immune for this virus.

A vaccine against Croatian negativity, that sounds fantastic. As does living in Croatia, working hard with and for the community, and enjoying the fabulous Croatian lifestyle. It may sound impossible to believe, but I can confirm that - despite its MANY problems - living in Croatia, for all the reasons Rene described and more, really is better than most places. And if we could roll out Rene's vaccine and inject a little more positivity, it would be even better still. 

You can learn more about Rene and his life here from this TCN interview a few years ago - From the Netherlands to Nature Park Žumberak: Meet Humanitarian and Photographer René Pronk. 

You can learn more about Rene's work and offer on his Pronk Pictures website.

Injecting Positivity into the Default Negative Croatian Mindset

February 6, 2021 - Darijo Srna for Mojih TOP 11: The former Croatia captain opens up about Hajduk, rejecting Barcelona, and missing out on the 2018 World Cup silver. 

Darijo Srna said goodbye to football in the summer of 2019, leaving behind 10 Ukrainian championship titles, and countless matches for Croatia, Hajduk, Shakhtar, and Cagliari, as well as many unforgettable moments on the pitch. 

In an emotional interview with Mojih TOP 11, a show hosted by Serbian journalist Nebojsa Petrovic, the former Croatia national team captain revealed some never-before-known details.

"Hajduk is my soul, and it hurts me when I see what is happening to the club."

In the beginning, Srna emphasized his love for Hajduk, his favorite club.

"Hajduk is my soul, my heart. It is the biggest club in our area for me. It hurts me when I see what is happening with Hajduk, but we fans will never lose faith in Hajduk. It is our love. We were born with it. I will die as part of that family for five or six years. I won the Hajduk Heart trophy from the fans, which is the most valuable trophy for me, along with the one I received from the Croatia National Team's Fan Club, 'Forever Faithful.' I remember my debut. I came in when we were losing 1-0, forced a foul, and Leko scored for 1-1. Later I went out against Piplica one on one. I missed, and then there was a break in the game. Torcida stormed the field, and we slept in the stadium for two or three days. That was my debut," Srna said.

"I turned down Barcelona; I'm saying this for the first time."
He revealed to Petrovic that he rejected Barcelona. It has been written about before, but Srna never publicly admitted that he rejected the Catalan giant four years ago.

"I rejected Barcelona, and when you reject it, then there are no more conversations. This is the first time I have publicly admitted that I rejected Barcelona at the age of 34. It was decided by the heart. At the time, Shakhtar was at war. We had been in Kyiv for two years. I felt I would let the fans down even though the president said he would respect any of my decisions. The heart said, 'No.' I'm not sorry," said the former Croatia captain.

Srna points out that his dream was to play for Croatia and that it is not his fault that Luka Modrić will almost certainly overtake him in the number of caps for the national team. Srna is the record holder with 134 appearances, and Modrić has one less.

"I was both happy and sad about the silver medal in Russia."
"When you are born where I was born, you have two wishes - to play for Hajduk and the Croatia national team. For us, the Croatia national team is everything. I would change all my club trophies if I were with them in Russia. Our love and our common strength mean so much. They asked me if I was sorry that Luka would overtake me in the number of caps. I said: 'Well, my people, children dream of playing one game with their hand over the coat of arms, listening to their anthem, and I was the happiest man in the world 134 times.' There is no better moment in football. I was still happy to be the captain of my national team over 60 times, to be first in line with all my teammates. That meant the world to me," said Srna.

Fate led Srna to the national team two years after they won the bronze medal at the 1998 World Cup in France and said goodbye two years before the silver medal at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He is both happy and sad.

"I was happy as a little kid but also unhappy that I wasn't there. Looking at the bronze medal from 1998 ... I came to the national team in 2000 and left in 2016. The silver was in 2018. I was two years late. I'm not sorry. I consider myself part of that family," Srna said.

"I promised my father I would play"
It will always be remembered that Srna played against the Czech Republic at Euro 2016, just five days after his father passed away.

"I gathered my courage and promised my father that I would play in the European Championship," Srna revealed.

The former captain also spoke about the current captain of Croatia, Luka Modrić, who he considers to be the best footballer in the history of this area.

"Modrić is a phenomenon."
"'Phenomenon.' And that nickname says more than a thousand words. I claim that he is the greatest player of all time in our area. I mean the whole region. On a par with Deja Savićević, Piksi Stojković, Davor Šuker. Kudos to everyone, but Luka is number one. That head, that character. Winner of the Golden Ball, three-time Champions League winner, second with Croatia at the World Cup. I tip my hat to him," Srna said.

Srna also touched on Marijo Mandžukić, who he says is a fighter unlike anyone else he's met.

"If he weren't like that, he wouldn't have made a career. He is a fighter who doesn't bend for anyone, not even two percent. Don't touch him on match day," Srna said.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.  

February 6, 2021 - The Voice of Entrepreneurs Association protest gathered at least 5,000 people on Wednesday in Zagreb, according to estimates. Executive Director of the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association, Dražen Oreščanin, announced the continuation of similar actions if nothing changes, most likely at the end of February. 

Index.hr reports:

"At the end of the month, on Friday, February 26, we will again organize a protest at Ban Jelačić Square if the epidemiological situation improves and discriminatory measures against entrepreneurs continue. We are also asking the government for fair compensation for closing facilities because all they give us now is only 25 to 30 percent of the revenue we have lost. In contrast, Germany and Austria's governments, for example, give their entrepreneurs compensation of 70 to 75 percent of the lost revenue and thus save them. This does not only apply to cafes, which are closed, but also in activities such as the event industry, occasional transport, travel agencies, and tourist guides, which can work but due to the measures, they have practically no one, which puts them in a challenging situation," explains the executive director of the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association, Dražen Oreščanin.

He adds that entrepreneurs are asking the government to finally adopt a "corona traffic light" based on which it would be determined which epidemiological measures are being adopted in which conditions. He notes that something like this should be adopted at the regional level, which would enable entrepreneurs and citizens to prepare for certain measures.

Oreščanin emphasizes that entrepreneurs are not against epidemiological measures, but they are against their selective application, so some entrepreneurs are denied the right to work.

"We do not interfere in epidemiological measures; we respect them. We also called at the protest that all those gathered adhere to epidemiological measures. However, we demand that the government treat us all equally and that we all have equal rights," Oreščanin said.

He also criticizes the government for insufficient communication with entrepreneurs and calls out the Voice of Entrepreneurs for politicking, which he strongly rejects. Entrepreneurs, he says, are on the brink, and their situation is deteriorating. In such conditions, they have no choice but to take to the streets and warn of problems.

"We expect the government to start behaving like governments in democracies finally. Instead of communicating with us, it tries to discourage and discredit us and throws spins to portray us as enemies of the Headquarters and the state. But that's not the case, the government doesn't communicate with us," points out Oreščanin.

But all this comes at a price, and in the crisis, which continues this year, the state treasury will hardly have enough money to feed all appetites. Especially if it turns out that the recovery will go much slower than expected.

In such conditions, economic analyst Damir Novotny warns that the straw of salvation for Plenković's government should be provided by money from EU funds. But, he says, the government will have to work harder for that. First, it should quickly adopt a program to use Union funds and speed up its withdrawal, rather than procrastinate, as before.

"Croatia has a lot of money at its disposal, allocated by Brussels, a total of over 20 billion euros, and that money should be used. The government must not bureaucratize and delay but should adopt a plan for using that money. That money can save us from social collapse because the implementation of the projects financed by it will stimulate economic growth and demand for labor," Novotny explains for Index.

Novotny also sees a chance to hire an increasing number of unemployed in the reconstruction of Zagreb and other areas affected by the earthquakes. Reconstruction projects will require a lot of manpower and various profiles.

He also says that he does not expect major social unrest in Croatia for the time being. Still, he also warns that the continuation of the corona crisis also means the collapse of some companies, which will result in higher unemployment. The domino effect could also be social unrest.

"If the crisis continues, there will be social problems," Novotny said.

However, Croatia should also start working on the challenges that await it even after the corona crisis. Namely, it is already clear, Novotny points out, that it will take years for tourism to return to the levels before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and companies will have to survive in that period as well. He also believes that several activities, including catering, should work on digitally transforming their business. Besides, companies should no longer be put in a position if they have not accumulated enough capital for future crises.

"Changes in the structure of the Croatian economy can be expected. The importance of modern industry and construction will increase, and the role of tourism and catering will decrease. Also, we will have to try to attract more foreign investment," Novotny concluded.

To read more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

February the 6th, 2021 - Tomislav Mamic, otherwise the owner of Tommy, one of the largest employers in all of Dalmatia, has entered the race to become the next mayor of Split.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Tomislav Mamic could well become the next mayor of Croatia's second largest city. His company, Tommy, is by far the largest employer in Dalmatia, and this information was confirmed to Slobodna Dalmacija first hand.

Does this mean that the strongest Dalmatian entrepreneur is swiching the life of business for a life of politics? Many will surely be asking that question. Tomislav Mamic himself categorically rejected this at the beginning and especially emphasised: "I'm not a politician, nor do I want to be involved in politics."

Then, what is this move Tomislav Mamic is making really all about?

''It's about the fact that many of my fellow citizens and acquaintances have been persuading me for some time now to become more actively involved in the campaign for the election of mayors and future members of the City Council because they believe they can make a step forward and bring positive changes. I thought about that for a long time and finally decided to activate myself and try to do something in that sense,'' said the future independent candidate.

''There's an idea to form an independent list on which the most prominent citizens of the City of Split from all spheres of social life would appear. We should just get together, I don't have ready-made names. This isn't about entering the political struggle and trying to come to power at any cost, but about the intention of the citizens to get their representatives who enjoy their deep trust and support into power,'' he explained, adding that he personally doesn' want ''any power or influence, especially not for personal benefit''.

Tomislav Mamic is otherwise a man who employs almost 5,000 people with more than three billion kuna in annual income, with constant profit growth. He entered that ''world'' owing to a combination of life circumstances, back in 1992 he started the now very well known "Tommy". In 2000, he bought ''Kike'' stores from his brother and incorporated them into his large chain, which is now positioned among the top 10 Croatian companies.

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February the 6th, 2021 - Zagreb police have had their hands full of late trying to make sure measures preventing the work of gyms, cafes, restaurants and other such facilities deemed ''risky'' by the epidemiological profession aren't broken. They recently released footage of their raid on a Zagreb restaurant which was working illegally in which 34 people were present.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, during this action undertaken by the Zagreb police, a total of 34 people were found, identified and checked in the aforementioned Zagreb restaurant which was open illegally.

There was no use of coercive measures in the conduct of the police officers and eight persons were found without

wearing protective masks, for which reason the police officers issued them four Notices of Misdemeanor and four fines were issued for the misdemeanor referred to in Article 47, paragraph 2, item 9 of the Law on Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases.

In addition, officials of the Directorate of Civil Protection (commonly referred to as the National Civil Protection Headquarters) found violations of Croatia's curren epidemiological measures contrary to the Decision on necessary epidemiological measures restricting gatherings to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

Due to performing catering and hospitality activities contrary to the decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia, officials of the State Inspectorate, Tourist Inspection, Zagreb Regional Office found a violation of Article 9-A of the Catering Act and issued an oral decision banning the restaurant's work - again.

The part of the premises where the currently illicit activity of serving food and beverages was performed and recorded by the Zagreb police was sealed off for a minimum of thirty days, and misdemeanor proceedings will be initiated against the legal and responsible person.

After the raid by the Zagreb police was over, as part of the criminal investigation, the restaurant's 32-year-old director, as the responsible person, was brought to the official premises of the Zagreb Police Administration for criminal investigation on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of "Spreading and Transmitting Infectious Diseases" and after the completion of the criminal investigation, he will be handed over to a custody supervisor.

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February the 6th, 2021 - Minister Vili Beros is clearly feeling confident about Croatia's continued excellent trends when it comes to the epidemiological picture, as the infection rate remains low. He stated that he ''believes'' Croatia's current anti-epidemic measures could start being relaxed as of the 15th of this month.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, new strains of the novel coronavirus have now been confirmed in 70 countries, while they haven't yet been found in Croatia. When asked if we were just extremely lucky in that regard, Minister Vili Beros answered for RTL Direct:

"I don't know how crazy our luck has been, but I know that we made sure to look at everything, including our measures at the borders, so that this new strain wouldn't manage to arrive. Back in December last year, the British Consortium for the research of the genome of COVID-19 detected that there were several variants of the virus circulating. We know of the British B117 strain, which is now present in 45 countries, and there is local transition in 13 countries.

The spread of this virus is somewhat more rapid and therefore we believe that the regions where the incidence of newly infected people is highest can be identified and this could indirectly indicate the existence of such new variants of the virus. There is also the South African variant which is present in 11 countries and in some of our neighbouring countries. All of this leads to extra caution. We're taking all of these elements into account when determining any measures.

There's no clear data that there is such a hotspot in Croatia in which the infection would spread faster and thus indirectly indicate the presence of new variants. But we can only find out by sequencing, and we're just adapting to the need for that sequencing. We've engaged a number of healthcare and scientific capacities to do the same. The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will provide sequencing for Croatia and all other European countries, in the form of 200 samples per week. They're also bearing the cost of transport and evaluation. We don't have the clinical parameters that would indicate such a thing,'' Minister Vili Beros explained.

He also referred to neighbouring Slovenia's failure to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"I'm not full aware of the details of their epidemiological situation. It's clear that there's no universal recipe for solving the issue of this epidemic. From day to day it's necessary to evaluate a number of parameters, medical and non-medical ones, and to balance between those measures aimed at preserving health and those aimed at preserving economic activities. That balance is extremely difficult to find. I believe that is the cause of what's going on there. I believe that Slovenia is just as responsible as Croatia,'' he said.

He then answered the question of whether he is planning evaluate some illogical things, such as the big crowds on Sljeme etc.

"Everything that is determined through the introduction of any measures makes some sense. But overall compliance and non-compliance represent a spectrum in the epidemic. This isn't typical only for Croatia but for all European countries. In other countries, too, illogicalities are present. When we talk about coffee ''to go'' options for coffee shops and petrol stations... Well, are petrol stations a place to hang out, talk and sit around? No, they’re for refueling vehicles, and we can take coffee to go there, too, but after that we leave.

However, coffee can be taken ''to go'' from a bakery in the city, and so you end up with 20 people standing in front of it with coffee, the journalist pointed out and asked: Why is that allowed, and those from who have cafes aren't allowed? Are you going to revise some of these things on February the 15th to make more sense?

"I believe that the epidemiological situation will continue to be stable and that there will be no new outbreaks or variants and that we'll as such be able to evaluate all these elements and continue to slowly relax the measures. However, we do need to remain extremely careful because there can be no room for impatience. Everything needs to be done very carefully and with a lot of thought in mind. It isn't the goal of any of us to act restrictively. We act on those segments of life that the epidemiological profession deems to be risky,'' concluded Minister Vili Beros.

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February the 6th, 2021 - Martina Dalic, perhaps best known for her role in the weird and rarely wonderful Agrokor saga which dominated the Croatian public and nearly sent the economy down the drain just a few years ago, has come to the helm of the Croatian company Podravka following Marin Pucar's premature death.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the corporate, but also very much political news of the week is certainly what many as referring to as the "rehabilitation" of former government minister Martina Dalic by appointing her to the position of President of the Management Board of Podravka.

Martina Dalic was the personal choice of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and although the media speculated that some members of the Supervisory Board would oppose it, her appointment was unanimously confirmed by the Supervisory Board on Wednesday. Her term will last until February 2022, because until then the company should have been run by the recently deceased Marin Pucar, who passed away after a battle with an illness.

Although Podravka is two-thirds owned by private capital, pension funds hold almost 49 percent of the shares, and the state has only 24 percent, the company is under "strong pressure" from politics. This, without exception, applies to all policy options, and the “right” to management and staffing is laid from the local to the highest national level. After Pucar's death at the beginning of January, the head of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Luka Burilovic, the director of Adris Cromaris, Goran Markulin, and a member of the Management Board of Podravka for Finance, Davor Doko, were all in the race for Podravka's proverbial ''throne''.

"Personally, I'm glad that the proposal for my appointment was made by the largest individual shareholder of the Croatian Government, it means a lot to me," said Martina Dalic after the Supervisory Board session. She added that one of the first steps she intends to take will be to get to know the associates and representatives of the workers, but that she is not yet thinking about the reconstruction of the company's management.

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the record decline experienced by the entire domestic economy, by the end of September, Podravka had achieved revenue growth of 3.3 billion kuna (+ 2.8 percen), while sales revenues in the food and pharmaceutical segment also grew. The annual results for 2020 will be announced on February the 26th.

To briefly recall, former Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalic resigned back in May 2018 after the Borg affair revealed that she coordinated a group of individuals who wrote Lex Agrokor for the Croatian Government without contracts and official decisions, who were then charged for their consulting services to the now disgraced concern.

Martina Dalic still claims that she did nothing wrong in the Agrokor affair - and she even referred to the work she did regarding Agrokor as a ''great experience and reference''.

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