As it is to be expected, former president criticizes the first moves of the new government.
Former Croatian president Ivo Josipović said today that Croatia was regressing in a political and social sense. One of the proofs is the proposed budget for this year which does not bring any reforms or indications that Croatia could move forward. “In society, there is a strengthening of political and ethnic intolerance, of encouraging and glorifying of fascism, which is not appropriate for the 21st century. And, therefore, it seems that Croatia is in a state of political and social regression which is dangerous for the democratic and economic development of the country”, said Josipović at a press conference, reports Večernji List on March 17, 2016.
The signs of this “retro policy” can be seen by “harsh stance towards political opponents and those who are believed to be opponents”. The examples are the decisions about the Croatian Radio Television and the Council for Electronic Media, “where the president is being attacked for purely political reasons”.
On the political scene, he sees only bickering and ideological conflicts. “Social regression is visible, and by that I mean that values that had long been nurtured are now endangered – human rights, democratic political standards, the attitude towards national minorities, the right to political expression”, said Josipović. With the arrival of any new government, he added, it is common to make changes at certain political positions, but the changes should not extend to non-political posts and should not be done in a manner which represents a “political lynching”.
He said that the government of Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković at the beginning of the term is in a worse shape than any other previous government. “The reason is, as you could see in the budget, that there are no ideas, no reforms and no indications that Croatia could start moving in a better direction”, he said.
According to Josipović, the stability of the government will primarily depend on how the public will feel about the fact that the government is not offering any prosperity. “The only visible financial reform is the de facto abolition of the Office of the Former President Stjepan Mesić”, said Josipović. There are no development plans, funds for science have been decreased, there is no serious consideration of government spending in order to increase funds for development of the economy.
He described the announced reduction of budgetary funds for the Office of the Former President as demagoguery. “It would be fairer to abolish the Office by changing the law, and not to make a joke of that institution like this”, he said. He added that there could be a discussion whether such office is necessary, but pointed out that former President Stjepan Mesić was doing a good job for the state and business community.
