HSLS President Kosor on ministerial appointments.
Darinko Kosor, president of HSLS, one of the members of the HDZ-led Patriotic Coalition, confirmed yesterday that he was disappointed because Josip Budimir, a candidate proposed by his party, was not named a minister, but he added that Budimir would become a minister “in the second round,” reports Vecernji List on February 3, 2016.
“I am disappointed, primarily for Croatian citizens, that he did not become the Economy Minister or the Entrepreneurship Minister. He really could have given a major contribution to the government to help Prime Minister Orešković, but under the circumstances ministers were chosen only from the ranks of HDZ and MOST”, said Kosor in an interview given yesterday.
He pointed out that there are no ministers in the government from HSS, HSP AS and Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić’s party as well. “But, I would say that this is just the first round of ministers. You know that ministers always keep changing, that some do not last longer than three or six months. There will be another round of ministers later, and I believe that in that second group Budimir will be a minister. And not only him, but also many other highly qualified people who have not been selected at this point”, said Kosor.
Kosor confirmed that HSLS and their partners in the Patriotic Coalition talked about Budimir becoming the head of the national holding company which would include all state-owned businesses. “There was some talk about it, and there were offers made to Mr. Budimir in that regard, but I think that the holding company will not be established for at least a year, if it ever happens at all since there is resistance to that idea”, said Kosor.
Josip Budimir said that he considered such talk to be unfair. “I do not think that there will be another round of ministers. They have been selected with the intention to do their job well and they deserve the support of all of us from the coalition and from all citizens”, said Budimir, who is a prominent member of HSLS and one of the best-known macroeconomists in Croatia.
HSLS president Darinko Kosor gave a number of statements in recent days in which he pointed out how disappointed he was that Budimir was not selected to be a minister. But, while Kosor uses the name of his party colleague for political purposes, Budimir stresses that the most important thing is to allow the newly-appointed ministers to do their job and help them succeed in difficult tasks which lie ahead of them.
