ZAGREB, 4 March, 2021 - The Serbs in Vukovar are under-represented in town administration, the deputy mayor from the Serb minority, Srđan Milaković, told a press conference in Town Hall on Thursday.

The number of Serbs working in town administration should reflect their number in the town, but that is not the case, Milaković said, citing the last census showing that 34.87 percent of the town's residents identified themselves as Serbs.

In 2014, 19 of 60 town administration employees were Serbs, while in 2017, at the end of the first term of mayor Ivan Penava, 16 of 70 employees were Serbs, Milaković said.

At the end of January this year, 80 people were employed in town administration, including 16 Serbs, which is slightly over 12 percent, the deputy mayor said.

He added that it is particularly concerning that none of the heads of town departments are Serbs. They are not in executive positions in the companies majority owned by the town or in the positions of school principals, he noted.

"The law is clear. It guarantees the Serb residents proportionate representation, but we can see that it is just a dead letter in practice," Milaković said. He added that his role as deputy mayor from the Serb minority was reduced to a pro-forma position.

"Like any other position guaranteed to Serbs, mine too is devoid of any substantive responsibility. This position only gives me room to speak in public, nothing more. I am totally invisible and am not included in any of the events covered by the protocol, except when a wreath needs to be laid somewhere," Milaković said.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes on the 24th of July, 2020, the fifteenth Croatian Government, and the second one under Andrej Plenković, promised to do a lot in its programme by the end of its mandate; from creating the conditions for the bringing to life of as many as 100,000 new jobs, raising the average salary to 7,600 kuna and the minimum one to 4,250 kuna, to ten percent higher pensions and more generous social benefits.

The new-old prime minister sees the main lever for achieving these programme goals and economic recovery in the full utilisation of the now somewhat (in)famous 22 billion euros from the European Recovery Fund and the seven-year EU budget. This is obviously an important stronghold for the further tax relief that has since been announced.

Another day or two after the election victory, Plenković said that we don't have time to celebrate, and among the first moves he announced were cuts in income and profit taxes, as well as a reduction in VAT on food in some products.

In the meantime, the statements of the equally new-old Minister of Finance, Zdravko Marić, suggested that this wouldn't be a package, especially not in terms of the beginning of the application of lower rates in general.

Lowering the 36 and 24 percent income tax rate to 34 and 20 percent is likely to take place before the reduction of corporate income tax for companies with an income of up to 7.5 million kuna from 12 to 10 percent. It's also likely to happen before looking into reducing VAT in the aforementioned segment.

Some economists believe that in terms of the timing of this so-called VAT intervention, this isn't a mere matter of it being common practice to introduce such changes at the beginning of the calendar year. The coronavirus crisis has trampled all over many common practices, with as many as eleven European governments deciding to respond to the pandemic's shockwaves by temporarily lowering VAT rates over recent months, and not just in terms of more flexible collection models.

Even among those eleven nations, only Germany has resorted to indiscriminate VAT cuts. As of this month, it has lowered the general rate from 19 down to 16 percent. Most others opted for targeted selective reductions targeted at individual sectors, products and services.

The Croatian Government's package of assistance to the economy was one of the most generous in the entire EU (when measured in relation to GDP), but in the field of VAT, which in our budget carries revenue of as much as 13-14 percent of GDP, anti-crisis measures remained, allowing business owners the ability to pay VAT only after collection, and not upon issuing invoices. This eased their liquidity situation.

Numerous variants of flexibility of rules in the VAT system were also used by countries that also reduced the rate of that tax on certain products and services for a period of time. According to Avalar VATlive, a global specialist for these taxes, their focus was mainly on the hospitality and tourism sector, transport, cultural events, books, publishing and the like.

In adopting measures during the coronavirus crisis, governments have generally followed what other countries were doing very closely, so this sort of perpetual intervention in VAT rates was introduced in early July and is set to last until the end of the year.

Norway, however, which isn't an EU member state and is known for smart moves, was much quicker than most others. The non-EU Northern European nation halved VAT on public transport, hotels and cinemas from 12 percent to 6 percent in early April for a period of seven months. The Turks, who also aren't EU members, also started with their interventions in April, but they decided to almost completely give up on the idea of VAT (slashing it from 18 to 1 percent) on domestic flights and accommodation, for a period of eight months.

The Austrians halved their VAT rates on alcoholic beverages (from 20 to 10 percent), and further reduced it (from 10 to 5 percent) for restaurants, cafes, culture, and for part of the Austrian press.

Since July, the Czech Republic has reduced the levy on sports and cultural activities and accommodation services (from 15 to 10 percent), while Greece has temporarily eased the levy on taxis, ferries and other public transport, among other things. The option for the partial reduction of VAT has been being discussed in Ireland over recent days as well.

European announcements regarding reforms...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently announced fiscal reforms for Spain, but in the direction of tax increases, aimed primarily at the higher taxation of large companies.

In this regard, the media especially emphasise that one of the targets could be American technology companies. Sanchez is also announcing the acceleration of the introduction of new environmental taxes. This issue will surely come to the forefront in other EU member states in the foreseeable future as well, both due to the green strategic orientation of the EU and owing to the fact that the huge "umbrella" borrowing to finance the recovery plan of the economies affected by the coronavirus crisis will need to be repaid at some point.

There are no such tax announcements in the Croatian Government's programme, so it remains to be seen whether they will be imposed during the mandate or not.

The reduction of tax revenues

At the moment, the focus lies primarily on tax relief, whenever that might actually start. Since in the first half of the year, tax revenues were reduced by between 13 and 15 percent or about 5-6 billion kuna (only in the second half was it close to 7 billion kuna), it is understandable that in the plans for further relief in the eyes of the Croatian Government, things rely heavily on the use of European Union money which should be available to Croatia in the coming years.

For more on the Croatian Government, follow our politics section.

With the Croatian elections rapidly approaching, just how well are the parties doing? As HDZ finds a stronghold in Slavonia, Restart does well in Zagreb and Miroslav Skoro and the Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret), a somewhat newer face on the political scene, has found his support in the north of Croatia.

As Mislav Bago/Dnevnik writes on the 26th of June, 2020, there are a mere ten days left until the polls open. Dnevnik Nova TV has published the latest info from Crobarometer's survey, which reflects the mood of voters according to the offered lists in the run up to the Croatian elections. It's important to note that the survey was conducted as if Croatia were one single constituency.

HDZ is currently the voters' first choice with support of 26.7 percent. Right behind them is the RESTART coalition with 24.6 percent of support. The Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret) has received 11.1 percent of support, and MOST is crossing the election threshold, currently counting on just 6.8 percent of voter support.

The HDZ electorate is significantly more male. For example, among younger male voters under the age of 30, the party has received 19 percent of the vote, but among the older males, more precisely those over the age of 60, they've received 38 percent of support. The party seems to be able to count on more support in the countryside, with 31 percent of the vote, and among voters with elementary school education where they would get 49 percent of the vote. Slavonia seems to be a strong stronghold for the HDZ and they're getting an average of 43 percent of the vote there, in Dalmatia they're getting 37 percent, and they're performing very poorly in Zagreb, enjoying just 16 percent of the vote.

The RESTART coalition has more support among Croatian women. They have the support of 18 percent of young voters under the age of 30, and they would get 31 percent of the vote from older voters who are over the age of 60. Among voters with secondary education, they would receive 27 percent support and 25 percent in cities. Zagreb is the best stronghold of the coalition with 30 percent support. In the North of Croatia the coalition enjoys 27 percent of support, in Istria and the Littoral, they also enjoy 32 percent, with Dalmatia at 16 percent and Slavonia at 20 percent.

The Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret) has received 18 percent of support among younger voters, among those with primary school education, support stands at 12.5 percent, and they appear to have more votes in the countryside - 15 percent. Interestingly, they are the strongest in the north of Croatia with 15 percent, then Zagreb with 12 percent, and there is Dalmatia and Slavonia with 10 percent. They are doing the most poorly in Istria and the Littoral with just 9 percent.

MOST has extremely high support among voters aged 31 to 44, more precisely 11 percent, and among the highly educated, 12 percent. MOST is enjoying 10 percent in Dalmatia, 9 percent in Zagreb, and 7 percent in Istria and the Littoral.

Who is fighting to enter the Croatian Parliament?

The MOŽEMO (WE CAN) coalition, which has united the left, has 4.5 percent of voter support, the other coalition, Stranka s imenom i prezimenom (the Party with a Name and Surname), Fokus (Focus) and Pametno (Smart), has 4.1 percent, and the joint Živi zid (Living wall) and Ivan Pernar are at 3.3 percent of support.

Interestingly, when looking at the regions, MOŽEMO is extremely strong in Zagreb, enjoying 13.6 percent of the vote. The coalition Pametno, Stranka s imenom i prezimenom and Fokus are also at 7 percent in Zagreb, and finally the coalition of Živi zid and Ivan Pernar is dancing around the election threshold in Istria and the Littoral.

Other parties are below 1 percent, for example Radimir Cacic's Reformists have 0.7 percent, HNS has 0.6 percent, and Bandic's party 0.5 percent. 12.5 percent are undecided.

Croatian elections aside for now, the president is losing popularity...

The president, Zoran Milanovic, is receiving less and less support for his work and currently every second respondent evaluates his work negatively, and only 39 percent of them approve of his work.

All politicians are losing popularity in the run up to the Croatian elections

As stated, the president's popularity is dropping, with 47 percent of respondents having a negative view of his work. HDZ's Andrej Plenkovic has entered the end of the campaign with the support of 44 percent of citizens who have a positive impression of him, and 48 percent have a negative one.

Miroslav Skoro is also falling, he can currently count on a mere 39 percent of citizens having a positive impression of him, and 52 percent of them think of him negatively.

Bozo Petrov can count on 37 percent of citizens who think positively about him, and 49 percent of them who think negatively.

Davor Bernardic also cannot count on majority support, 26 percent of citizens have a positive impression of him, and 59 percent of them have a negative impression.

Finally, 20 percent of citizens have a positive impression of Milan Bandic, and 73 percent of them have a negative impression.

In the run up to the Croatian elections, it can be seen that the government is losing support, and the country itself is sinking into a state of pessimism...

The Croatian Government has not counted on majority support for a long time now. Currently, 59 percent of citizens do not approve of the work of the HDZ-run government, and only 32 percent of them approve of it.

This is very much in line with the direction in which Croatia is going, because 70 percent of the country's citizens think that Croatia is heading in the wrong direction currently, and only 21 percent of them are optimistic.

What are the problems Croatian citizens have highlighted?

Unemployment comes first and foremost, it is the first and biggest problem for 25 percent of Croatian citizens. The economic situation is the biggest problem for 19 percent of citizens. Crime and corruption are a big problem for 16 percent of citizens. Living standards and low wages are considered a problem by 7 percent of citizens, and 5 percent of them consider the coronavirus pandemic to be the biggest problem.

FOOTNOTE: This pre-election survey was conducted by IPSOS on 978 Croatian citizens by telephone from the 22nd to the 24th of June, 2020. The maximum error margin in a sample is +/- 3.3 percent, and for party ratings +/- 3.6 percent.

For more on the Croatian elections and on politics in general in Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

ZAGREB, June 16, 2020 - The leader of the SDP and the Restart coalition, Davor Bernardic, said on Tuesday that the Church should not be interfering in politics and elections because Croatia is a secular country, commenting on the recommendations by the Croatian Bishops' Conference for the July 5 parliamentary election.

"First of all, Croatia is a secular country and the Church should not be interfering in politics or in elections. This suggests that they are dissatisfied with the government because it failed to ban work on Sundays," Bernardic said at a presentation of the Restart coalition's education programme.

Speaking of the position of prime minister within the SDP (Social Democratic Party) and the Restart coalition, he said that under a decision by the SDP's main committee the president of the SDP is the candidate for prime minister.

Bernardic said that an interview with the head of the Homeland Movement, Miroslav Skoro, clearly showed that Skoro intended to form a coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, adding that a vote for Skoro was a vote for the HDZ and vice versa.

Asked why he had declined an invitation to face off against Plenkovic in a debate on the public television service HRT, Bernardic reiterated that he had confirmed his participation in debates on the commercial television channels Nova TV and RTL during the official part of the election campaign.

"There is an impression that this is a competition for the President of the Republic or a tennis match between me and Plenkovic. No, this is the presentation of the best team and the best programme for Croatia. I know it's embarrassing for Plenkovic to talk about his team because 15 people have left it," Bernardic said.

As for Zeljko Sabo, who has been included on the SDP's election slate although he was found guilty of corruption by a court of law, Bernardic said that the rehabilitation period had passed.

ZAGREB, June 16, 2020 - The political platform We Can! - Zagreb Is Ours! has published its election platform, saying that it is ambitious and that it will "change our common future".

"We see this moment as a necessary turning point for our society to recover and become more resilient to future challenges that are certain to come. We bring the knowledge and fighting spirit with which We Can! do it. There is no going back to the old ways. The political elites have been trying for years to convince us that Croatia cannot do better. We can!" it said, stressing that Croatia can be transformed into "a just, green, solitary and prosperous society".

The program is based on three main pillars: a green resilient economy and dignified work conditions, social equality, and democratization, and international solidarity, and is the result of a broad participatory consultation process.

We Can! said that its election platform is the plan for the recovery of Croatia from the current crisis and from the HDZ and political elites that have been leading the country since its independence. "We come not just to change politics but to change this society," the group said.

They said that the crisis caused by the global coronavirus pandemic had laid bare old problems and that society had to change.

"There is no going back to the old ways, but the burden of change must not be placed equally on everyone's shoulders because not all of us are equally responsible, and not all of us equally benefited from the failed Croatian development model," We Can! said.

"We should urgently abandon the harmful development model based on a clientelist and rent economy, erosion of workers' rights, devastation of the industrial base, and extraction of profit from untenable and speculative projects that do not correspond to the needs of the local population and our common long-term interests," they said.

They also said that they do not want the fight against climate change to be delayed under the pretext of the ongoing pandemic or economic recovery, noting that this fight requires international solidarity and commitment to achieving European and global solutions. 

April 26, 2020 - Croatia is at a great turning point: continue on with the old ways, or take a new path of reforms.

As 24sata writes on the 25th of April, 2020, in spite of the gravity of the situation in which we've come to find ourselves because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has been intensified by the recent Zagreb earthquake, today, Croatia has a chance that is rarely presented: the nation's dysfunctional, inefficient and expensive institutions, functions and positions that are all too often merely self-serving and nothing more, can be replaced by a more efficient apparatus that will actually be of genuine service to the whole society.

Croatia can begin by streamlining its vast network of municipalities, cities and counties, as well as numerous state institutions and their affiliates - which are equally important - then it can abolish its forced chamber contributions and reduce or completely eliminate several hundred para-fiscal levies; the abolition of that part of the administration alone will contribute to making the Croatian state far more efficient than it is now.

The sheer abundance of people working in the public sector is needless: efficiency is essential to the creation of new value and economic growth. However, Croatia's public institutions are inefficient. We have a public sector which is twice the size of that of Italy, and much larger than that of Greece, even before its collapse. Maintaining the current situation by borrowing, knowing that this year we'll face a terrible decline in GDP, in the next few years we'll enter into the troubled waters of bankruptcy and be forced to sell everything we have left. From Croatian water, to its forests and islands, through to hotels and land, to the airports and even the energy system.

Croatian financial sovereignty will be taken over by the IMF and the European Commission (EC). Whoever doesn't believe such a story only has to take one look at nearby Greece. Should we go down that route? Foreign owners can, of course, be more rational in managing their businesses because they want to maximise any profits for themselves, their companies, and the country they themselves come from. But, if they can be rational and good masters, why can't Croats do that for themselves? Showcasing public spending - from municipalities and cities to the very state - that is, what residents' money is spent on, publicly and accessibly online, is a much stronger guarantee of transparency than the swearing in of even the most ''honest'' politicians. Everything that is not actually a state secret should be fully disclosed.

Changes are also the ultimate issue of actual, real patriotism. Today, Croatia is fighting for reforms that will allow the economy to breathe more easily, for the benefit of all of us who live here. Zagreb will rebuild after the earthquake; Croatian agriculture got given a chance, and Croatian crafts and industries will also eventually get that same chance. The recovery of the global and European economy after the coronavirus epidemic leads us to the conclusion that there will be money available; and Croatia needs to spend it on development projects, on production, on irrigation, and on exports. All of the leaders of the leading Croatian parties, as well as the Croatian public, need to make themselves clear about these moves, because this regards the very fate of the country. There are no neutral positions to be taken here. And it won't be a one year task, these changes will take a very long time to come to fruition.

The crisis we have found ourselves in could be the biggest opportunity for positive change in this country since Croatia gained its independence from Yugoslavia.

During the coronavirus epidemic - and this impression was later confirmed by the Zagreb earthquake - it was clearly shown that Croatia has an abundance of hardworking, dedicated people for whom nothing is too much trouble, and their duties are sacred ones (doctors, firefighters, teachers, nurses, drivers, salesmen, bakers, postmen, pharmacists - people who society would miss terribly if they went on strike). Farmers and OPGs have moved at a rapid pace to a new business model that included digital advertising and home deliveries. Schools and the media have completely switched to a new regime. Students created the world's currently most sought-after goods, masks and other virus protection equipment, despite their demanding studies.

Unfortunately, in the clear light of day, this situation has proven that for many people, the effect of a great number of people not being allowed to go to work wasn't even felt. Entire sectors of the economy were left to simply fend for themselves even though businesses had been forced for years to finance expensive institutions - through their extortionate taxes, parafiscal levies, chamber membership fees and so on... so they had to organise themselves - all on their own.

After the earthquake, Zagreb had to be cleaned up by the army. Although the city itself already has an "army" of people sitting in its offices - more specifically 24,000 people - but we've mainly only ever actually set eyes on those working for Cistoca and the like - people with regular day jobs.

The Croatian Government will certainly find itself in a difficult situation: the budget will be 45-70 billion kuna short due to the massive drop in tourism and the rest of the economy, which makes up half of the state budget. GDP could be completely halved. Of course, due to the obvious interest of those in power and other parties and the upcoming elections, it's possible for the Croatian state to borrow money and keep the whole public sector intact - both municipalities, counties, cities, chambers, agencies, offices, administrations and public companies. But, by maintaining the existing balance, Croatia will reach an abyss.

The Croatian economy won't be able to bear the burden of debt repayment if it does so, and in the next few years, it will experience (yet another) economic collapse. That perspective is more than certain. In that case, what the bankers call "collateral" - the guarantees of debt repayment - will suffer. After the Greek collapse of not so long ago, a fifth of the public sector was out of work and a fifth of the private sector also was. All this could have prevented had the Greeks undertaken the much needed reforms on time, but they didn't. An irresponsible government failed to prevent that now infamous collapse, it merely delayed it and made it more difficult when it did happen.

Can the Croatian Government - not just the current one, but the next one, or the ones after that, afford to take such a risk? It marks the signing of a delayed capitulation, the sale of national interests in installments. The government can, of course, do so if it cares only about the political perspective of the ruling coalition and their party people; it can, if it wants to replace the future of the children with the safety of their staff, because of clientelism. But is the government allowed do that? If Croatia is truly at the government's heart, it should not and will not. If we don't take care of the perspective of national development ourselves, we have no right to enjoy the illusion that foreigners will do that for us, or do it even better than us.

The rationalisations that Croatia can - and must - now undertake on its own, with the will of the government, can effectively prevent such a scenario in a timely manner.

Croatia needs to start rationalising the costly network of 576 local and regional self-government units. Croatia needs to reduce or abolish most para-fiscal levies. Croatia must allow entrepreneurs and business owners, craftsmen, farmers and those in various professions the right to freely pay membership fees to vocational chambers. Croatia needs to streamline the network of agencies and regional offices. Croatia needs to place all of the operations involving the state budget of the central government, and local governments, online. This must be done because the people have become suspicious and are too often convinced that this money will only be misused otherwise.

Transparency is a means of reducing corruption but also a means of preventing excessive spending - we will then all know about everything that goes on in the public sector, there will be no hidden sinecures or meaningless projects.

Transparency is a universal remedy for all of that. We need to digitise every administrative service that can be provided in digital format. We need to incorporate VAT collection upon implementation permanently into law: this will, more than anything else, force state institutions to carry out the jobs they're actually being paid for, it will raise the level of ''hygiene'' in various areas, from business to the judiciary. The catalog of changes Croatia needs is thick and has many, many pages. It only takes courage to bring it to life. And that courage will be rewarded, because the people want it, much like cowardice and hesitation will be punished.

Croatia is a country, a place for five, six, ten million people, who could live in prosperity. The state we've had so far - namely, governments - has reduced the number of people living in the country from 4.6 to 4 million. If we reach 80 percent of our current (per capita) income (per capita) compared to the EU, we will put a halt to that emigration, and possibly encourage people to return.

Only an economically strong country is truly sovereign.

The future of all of us depends on which direction the Croatian Government will take. Tens of thousands of people are returning to Croatia because of the recession across Europe. Let's make sure they stay here when they get off the plane. Let's give them what they asked for here: an effective state apparatus, compliance with the laws, treaties, rights, a secure prospect of economic progress, reasonable taxes that will feed an efficient state apparatus that will not have entire colonies of well-paid party personnel who don't actually do anything, and whose futility is clearly put on display as soon as some serious temptation arises. Then, new people will come. Parts of the diaspora will return. Asylum will be sought in Croatia, where currently, even endangered migrants don't want to stay permanently.

This is a referendum for what kind of Croatia we truly want, and the outcome of that referendum will dictate what our lives will become in the years to come. We need reforms, and we need them now.

For more, follow our politics page.

As Novac/Danko Sucevic writes on the 17th of February, 2020, it's easy to dislike when Croatian taxpayer money is spent on buying ancient planes, for self-important government figures to tour other countries, paying off redundancies in government and public services, and local government units. Each of these topics is something we can and should discuss, but the topic of helping out Croatian tobacco manufacturers is rarely a subject we tackle, at least in public. Let's look at the enfeebled Agroduhan's story.

On Friday, it came to light that the Ministry of Finance was submitting a proposal for a regulation to raise excise duties on tobacco and tobacco products, and to put it the public debate, and that the Croatian Government had, despite that, decided to help the Agroduhan company from Slatina, which produces tobacco, claiming that it contributes about 30 percent to the total Croatian tobacco production.

It is a company that is by no means whatsoever beginning to pay back a massive 12 million kuna from the pre-bankruptcy settlement back in 2014 to CERP, the Restructuring and Sales Centre, so why did the government decide to help the company out a little more?

According to the government's explanation, because Agroduhan had promised to find private investors by the end of 2021, it would recapitalise it because the threat of the collapse of that company would lead to ''… extremely negative consequences for the Croatian economy, especially the agricultural sector, with the expected collapse of family farms and continued emigration from rural settlements.''

Many readers now wonder how it is that they've never heard of this important enterprise, on which the Croatian economy and an enormous amount of the agriculture sector depend, and is the biggest barrier to emigration from rural settlements. You don't have to wonder because it's just not true. In 2018, Agroduhan had about a hundred employees and 45 million kuna in revenue. That's not even enough to make it the biggest company in Slatina. From Slatina, two companies made it to the list of the 1000 largest, and neither of them are Agroduhan. These are Marinada in 276th place with 360 million kuna in revenue and almost 400 employees, and Drvo-trgovina in 945th place with revenues of 110 million kuna and 165 employees.

From the government's statement on Agroduhan, one can indirectly conclude that it's a loan that will allow for recapitalisation from which this loan and the original debt of 12 million kuna will then be repaid. There are two serious problems with this plan. The first is that the plan also includes CERP participating in the recapitalisation with the already mentioned troublesome 12 million kuna, and the second is that they already tried to carry out Agroduhan's recapitalisation a year and a half ago without any success whatsoever.

What has now apparently changed for Agroduhan's recapitalisation to be worthwhile and expected to succeed cannot be read in any way from the government's reasoning. Probably because nothing has changed and it is actually a service to a party colleague with who knows what political background, but we're just taking a stab in the dark there, of course.

Let's be very un-Croatian now and leave politics aside for a second, the whole story makes no business sense either. According to the latest available financial statements, Agroduhan has been operating at a profit for at least the last five years and has more assets than it has liabilities. To be precise, Agroduhan's total liabilities are approximately 54 million kuna and its total assets are 110 million kuna. Most of this is tied up in land and buildings. It should be no problem for a company with such assets to fund ten million kuna with any bank or find a worthwhile investor. Could it possibly be that someone, somewhere in this saga isn't telling the truth?

The legitimate theme which runs through all Croatian business sagas (just look at Agrokor, for a start) is the extent to which public affairs can be privatised or otherwise left to the market. What part of the health sector, the education sector, pensions, and even the police and military can be privatised? Must forests and waters be nationalised? Rail, roads, airports, oil, gas, electricity, bread and milk... But looking at this example of Agroduhan, it is obvious that such topics in Croatia are drowning in murky water.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics and business pages for more.

Health Minister Kujundzic hasn't had the best time of it of late. His alleged dodgy dealings, incorrectly declared properties and magic houses and apartments and even land popping up from the island of Pag to his hometown of Ivanbegovina (near Imotski) have all surfaced in the media.

We recently wrote an article which posed the question of just what it would take, or indeed how much would need to be found out, before a Croatian politician would actually do the honourable thing and step down when caught with their fingers ''in the till'' as it were. Could Milan Kujundzic actually end up resigning? Or will it be the usual saga of removing him when the government is backed into too much of a tight corner?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 26th of January, 2020, a government source confirmed to N1 that a late night meeting was held with Health Minister Kujundzic on Saturday night.

That same government source for N1 added that the decisions that follow in this case should show accountability and take into account the stability of the Croatian Government and HDZ.

Other sources from HDZ, however, claim that enfeebled Health Minister Kujundzic could step down as early as Monday.

"I perceive this in one way as a lynch atmosphere, but when it comes to politics, one should be prepared for such things as well.

I commend all of you journalists who will investigate me, and I invite all government bodies to investigate me on all grounds. I encourage you and others to investigate not only those who are public figures, but also many others about wages, what they had, what they got under communism, about privatisation, how much taxes, surtaxes and other kinds of contributions they paid. Do everything you need to do to me down to the last detail, and then do it to everyone else,'' Health Minister Kujundzic said on Friday at an extraordinary press conference regarding the attack of a journalist carried out by his own relative in front of his incorrectly declared house in Ivanbegovina.

Health Minister Kujundzic also held a meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and the chance of his resignation, as he said at the time, didn't even come into it.

Make sure to follow our dedicated politics page for more.

Croatian teachers are still continuing to strike for their rights as the unions give the Croatian Government's recent offer the thumb's down. The situation has escalated and somehow managed to become even more absurd than it was before. 

Is this one of those moments where one says the dreaded words ''only in Croatia'' when referring to something bordering on insanity? Probably. If you're not entirely sure exactly why Croatian teachers are striking, click here for the clear and simple reasons as to how this started, and why it's continuing after such a long time.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VLM writes on the 28th of November, 2019, Croatian teachers, their representative unions and others on strike from the education sector have remained deeply unsatisfied with the latest offer from the government.

The government and the unions have now found themselves in a rather absurd situation indeed - after more than thirty days of striking, the Croatian Government has now gone from not offering enough, to offering even more than the unions demanded, which stood at an average of 342 kuna.

As stated, the strikers, however, remain totally unhappy because the raise would be driven by an increase in the base wage rather than the coefficient. Strange? Yes, completely. Only in Croatia? Maybe.

Here are the facts as they currently stand when it comes to Croatian teachers, what is being offered by the government, and why the dissatisfaction continues:

- The average salary of Croatian teachers is now 7291 kuna net per month

- If we contains the latest government offer, that amounts to 8139

- By increasing the base by the end of 2020, the take home pay for Croatian teachers would increase to 8139 kuna monthly

What are the unions looking for now?

- By increasing the coefficient of 6.11 percent, the average Croatian teacher's salary is rising to 7793 kuna net

- The absurdity now is that, through the growth of the base pay, the government is offering 342 kuna more than the unions are seeking by increasing the coefficient

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and politics pages for much more on the unfolding situation with the striking Croatian teachers and what the government is prepared to do to end the situation.

"If we've waited for years, we can carry on waiting for another few months," Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said as a guest of Dnevnik Nova TV last night, answering the question of how long it may take to analyse and implement the adjustment of pay ratios, Dnevnik.hr reports.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of October, 2019, Zdravko Maric has to secure 150 million kuna for compensatory measures until the issue of coefficients is resolved, and when asked if he has the money, he says that this is not planned.

"So, as far as salaries are concerned, you'll see in the budget proposal for next year, of the total budget increase, there are two key items. On the one hand, there is one billion and 700 million kuna more for pensions and retirement benefits. And secondly, the same amount is foreseen for salaries," explained Maric.

"With regard to wage policy, we need to be very clear here. The wage increase is ahead of the proposal to increase the base. But as I said today, and I will say again now - we've opened up a very important topic that is gaining more attention in the media and among the general public," he added, referring to the topic of wages, which has been a burning one of late.

When asked how long it should take to analyse and implement what needs to be done, Maric simply stated that we have already been waiting for years and that essentially, a few more months or so shouldn't hurt.

He added that it's high time we start questioning what we're getting from our public services and noted that certain negative trends had been reversed, and that public debt is declining, that expenditures are being kept under control, that interest rates have fallen and that Croatia's rating has thus improved.

Follow our dedicated politics page for much more.