ZAGREB, March 14 (Hina) - The Zagreb County Court on Thursday upheld an indictment against Tomislav Saucha, former chief-of-staff of prime minister Zoran Milanović, who was in office from 2011 to 2016, and his secretary Sandra Zeljko, which charges them with claiming false travel expenses.

Saucha and Zeljko are charged with having made false travel expenses during his term as PM Zoran Milanovic's chief-of-staff, with Zeljko having continued to do so after Saucha left the post. They thus defrauded the state budget of around one million kuna (approx. 135,000 euro).

Prosecutor Krešimir Ostrogonac said that the two were charged with abuse of office and forgery of official documents and with aiding and abetting in abuse of office and forgery of official documents. He added that some 50 witnesses were expected to testify during the trial, including former chiefs-of-staff of the prime minister, Neven Zelić and Davor Božinović, who succeeded Saucha in that post.

Since Saucha showed up in court today and Zeljko did not, the prosecutor told reporters that she was reportedly receiving medical treatment.

A decision on whether she is fit to stand trial will be made at the first hearing, which is expected to be held in a few months' time.

Asked about the authenticity of his signatures on the contentious travel expense claims, Saucha repeated that the signatures were not his. His attorney Darko Marzić said that evaluations by expert witnesses in the case were of poor quality, that his client was dysgraphic and that that would help their case.

The investigation in the case was launched initially only against Saucha, at the time a Social Democrat member of parliament, and was later expanded to include Zeljko, who at the beginning was the main witness.

The investigation became final as late as August 2017 when the Zagreb County Court accepted the prosecution's appeal against a decision by the investigating judge in the case who ruled that the motion to expand the investigation was not in line with the law.

The prosecution's motion that the investigation be expanded was first denied after Saucha, as a member of parliament, tipped the scales in favour of Finance Minister Zdravko Marić in a vote on an opposition motion for his replacement which he previously signed. Saucha dismissed claims that his support for Marić had been bought, saying that he changed his mind so that a new parliamentary election was avoided.

More news on the Saucha case can be found in the Politics section.

The total revenues increased by almost 120,000 kuna, earnings from abroad rose while those from Croatia declined, and net profits exceeded half a million kuna. This is the 2018 financial statement of the EuroAlba Advisory company, a consulting firm that was founded three years ago by former Croatian Prime Minister and a potential candidate at presidential elections later this year Zoran Milanović, reports Jutarnji List on February 27, 2019.

The former SDP boss, who is the preferred presidential candidate for many members of his party, as well as most parties of the Amsterdam Coalition, is currently the only employee of the company headquartered at Miramarska Street in Zagreb.

The company's total revenues in the previous year amounted to 744,970 kuna, an increase of 20 per cent compared to 2017 when revenues amounted to 625,000 kuna. About 115,000 kuna were the total expenses of Milanović's company, only 13,000 kuna higher than in the previous reporting period.

Gross profits amounted to 629,000 kuna, or 552,952 kuna after tax payments, indicating that net earnings in relation to 2017 increased by about 93,000 kuna. It is as if he received a monthly salary of 46,000 for the whole year. However, the financial report reads that the former Croatian Prime Minister receives only slightly over 3,000 kuna a month. Namely, in the staff costs category, the annual net salary for employees amounted to 40,010 kuna, or 3,334 kuna per month. Milanović did not employ anyone last year, but remained the only employee, as he was in 2017.

According to publicly available data, the company whose sole business activity is "business and management consultancy", had 209,000 kuna of revenues from "selling goods or services abroad" in 2018, which is an increase of almost 140,000 kuna compared to 2017.

At that time, Milanović's consulting services abroad were linked to Edi Rama, the Albanian Prime Minister, regarding the country's accession to the European Union. Whom Milanović advised in 2018 is unknown, but his acquaintances say that last year he travelled to China and Russia several times.

From consulting services in Croatia, Milanovic last year raised 535,000 kuna, or 20,000 kuna less than 2017. The media often linked the former SDP prime minister with the Crodux oil company.

In addition to his consultancy business, Milanović is the president of the Diplomatic Council of the Dag Hammarskjöld School of International Relations and Diplomacy. Before that, the post was held by Budimir Lončar, a former adviser to presidents Ivo Josipović and Stjepan Mesić. The dean of the college is Joško Klisović (SDP). Milanović founded the company in 2016, two months after he lost parliamentary elections.

More news about the former prime minister can be found in the Politics section.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Tomislav Mamić).

About a year ahead of the presidential elections, which are supposed to take place in December or January, we have the first major poll of the year of the potential candidates. The Promocija Plus agency conducted a survey for RTL, reports RTL on January 11, 2019.

If the elections were held now, the winner would be decided in the second round. The best chances for a win has the current president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is expected to run for the second term.

Although she will not announce her decision before spring, as much as 38 per cent of respondents would vote for her in the first round. However, in recent months, after changes among some of her advisers which were not welcomed by voters on the extreme right, she did lose about three per cent of the support.

The second best-candidate is former SDP leader and former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović with almost 18%. He has not yet decided whether or not he will run for the presidency, and the current president has more than two times more support than him.

The former chairwoman of the Conflict of Interest Commission Dalija Orešković, who has never run for a political office, is third with 12 per cent of support, followed by president of the Živi Zid party, Ivan Sinčić, who has lost some support and is now at 7.9 %.

The leader of MOST, Božo Petrov, has also not ruled out the possibility of running, but his support is just 6.2 per cent. In 2010, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić managed to enter the second round of presidential elections, which he lost against SDP’s Ivo Josipović, and there are strong rumours that he might run again. However, this poll gives him just 4.5% of support.

Bruna Esih, a possible candidate of the right-wing parties, which are unhappy with the latest moves by the current president, has no real chance. She gets just over four per cent. Former MOST member Marko Vučetić is under two per cent, and he is the only candidate who has said he would run for the presidency.

Just as in all elections since 2000, the winner would be decided in the second round of voting. The current president is heavily favoured to win. Although her support has declined compared to December, Grabar-Kitarović would easily defeat Milanović. She is at 54.6 per cent, while Milanović is at 37.9 per cent. Although this is still significant support for Milanović since he has not been involved in politics for several years, there is no real reason to expect that the campaign and being in the media focus would increase his popularity. On the contrary.

The following months will tell whether the decline of the current president is just a short-term correction or the start of a negative trend. The president used to increase her popularity by attacking the government periodically, but the question is whether she will be able to continue doing that, given that it is likely that HDZ will support her as a candidate.

More news on the presidential elections can be found in our Politics section.

Translated from RTL (reported by Damira Gregoret).

For political leaders and voters, 2019 will be an exciting year. First up are the elections for the European Parliament in May, followed by presidential elections next winter, which will themselves be just a warm-up for parliamentary elections no later than 2020. Here is the 2019 political forecast for some of the most prominent politicians, reports Jutarnji List on January 1, 2019.

Former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović (SDP) is expected to announce whether we will run for president against his erstwhile opponent, current President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. On the other hand, we will see whether her political turnaround toward the political centre will succeed, bringing her closer to the current HDZ leadership. This year we will also find out whether Dalija Orešković, the former chairwoman of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission, is a new political star, as well as how the turmoil in SDP will end. Events in HDZ also promise to be interesting, with party leader Andrej Plenković's expected attempt to get rid of remaining party opponents, including deputy party president Milijan Brkić.

Milan Bandić, mayor of Zagreb
The mayor of Zagreb is in good political form, with his parliamentary group expanding with new MPs almost weekly. There are rumours that it is only a matter of time when Bandić will knock on Plenković's door and demand a government's reconstruction, with his representatives becoming ministers. Apart from Plenković, Bandić must keep watch over the State Attorney’s Office and courts. Just one guilty verdict could be enough to end the career of the most enduring Croatian politician. Therefore, 2019 might be a challenging year for Bandić.

Tomislav Karamarko, former HDZ president
The former HDZ chief and the most powerful politician in the country three years ago is reportedly thinking about returning to politics, but the main barrier is his successor Plenković. Another danger is the so-called “fake text messages scandal.” The only good opportunity for Karamanko's political return this year are European elections in May, and only if he succeeds in restoring the right-wing alliance with his former culture minister Zlatko Hasanbegović.

Davor Bernardić, SDP president
The SDP president is facing numerous dangers, and 2019 will be a decisive year for him. The critical moment will be the European elections in spring. If his battered political party is defeated as expected, his remaining allies in the SDP leadership will turn against him.

Damir Krstičević, defence minister
For the ambitious minister of defence, the key political event will take place immediately at the beginning of the year. Possible failure of the project to buy Israeli fighter jets is a significant danger for Krstičević. Failure could easily cost him a seat in the cabinet. To make matters worse, it seems that the fate of this military "deal of the century" is no longer in his hands. The help can only come from Washington.

Andrej Plenković, the prime minister
In the first two years of the prime minister's term, he survived a break with MOST and the potentially deadly implosion of Agrokor. He also dealt with intra-party opponents, but the primary battle is still ahead of him. His expected duel with Milijan Brkić is an opportunity for a decisive victory over the right wing of his party. Excellent prospects for further strengthening of his position are also offered by the European elections, which HDZ is expected to win easily. A stray bullet from the Agrokor affair or possibly some skeletons from the closet are the greatest dangers for Plenković in 2019.

Dalija Orešković, former chairwoman of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission
The former president of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission has announced the establishment of a new political party. The key event for her is the spring European elections where she is expected to run with her candidate list. If she manages to achieve a good result, an even better opportunity to break into the very top ranks will be available later in the year – presidential elections. How successful she will be depends a lot on the people she will surround herself with.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, president
The current president has made her new year's resolution earlier than usual. She has decided to clean up her office before Christmas and enter the new year with new advisors. To win the second term in office, she should get closer to the prime minister and HDZ, and distance herself from the far-right. On her way to the second presidential term, the most significant obstacles are her former friends from the right, but also her old colleague from the time they used to work together in diplomacy – Zoran Milanović.

Zoran Milanović, former prime minister and former SDP president
The leadership crisis in the SDP has increased the chances of Milanović’s return to politics. Numerous SDP members have already expressed their wish to see the former prime minister run for president. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is shaken, and if she cannot recover quickly, this could be a chance Milanović would not want to miss. His potential candidacy is at the same time his greatest possible risk because in the case of a defeat he would definitely be remembered as a major political loser. His final decision on whether to run depends on whether the entire SDP and other left-liberal parties would support his candidacy.

Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, Živi Zid president
According to the latest poll, Živi Zid is now the most popular opposition party, so we can say that Sinčić is the new leader of the opposition. The best opportunity for Živi Zid this year is the European Parliament election, as well as presidential elections for Sinčić personally in the winter. The greatest danger is a possible appearance of a new anti-systemic political party that would make him and Živi Zid redundant.

More news on Croatian politics can be found in our special section.

Translated from Jutarnji List.

From political elite to consultancy pro, the former PM has made a successful turnaround.

Almost two years before the election, the current President and a former Prime Minister appear to be the favourites.

The former Prime Minister has at least one client for his consultancy.

Nominated by Zoran Milanović's former government, Kučko has left his position.

The former Prime Minister has no political ambitions, for now...

Milanović could run for president or for the European Parliament.