On the other hand, critics say there is no reason for enthusiasm.
On Friday, Croatian government led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković marked its first 100 days in office. It used the opportunity to list all the achievements it accomplished since 19 October 2016, when it was elected, and to announce plans for the future.
According to the government, it has provided political stability to the country and has launched reforms aimed at achieving economic growth, legal security and social solidarity. The government also adopted a reasonable and rational budget which will allow balanced regional development of Croatia.
Furthermore, the government adopted a comprehensive tax reform which has reduced taxes on income and profits, which led to an increase in net salaries for most employees. At the same time, funds have been allocated for a significant increase in maternity and parental benefits; budget for science and education has been increased; there was a significant increase in funds for Homeland War veterans, as well as for the defence budget.
The government also improved the public procurement process and prepared a plan to unburden businesses of various fees in order to make 2017 a year of entrepreneurship and further economic recovery. Funds have been earmarked for supporting the development of villages and for increased control of food safety, said the government. The government adopted a waste management plan which is based on the circular economy concept, while the energy upgrade of buildings will contribute to energy savings.
In order to increase efficiency of public administration system, the government has adopted a special action plan and has also adopted measures for more efficient management of state assets by establishing a new ministry. With the establishment of two separate central state offices, the government emphasized the importance of digitalization of society, as well as the further development of the sports.
The government also confirmed its commitment to strengthening relations with the Croatian communities around the world. It has strengthened the partnership with individual counties and has accelerated the withdrawal of money from the European funds.
However, numerous critics say that there is no reason for enthusiasm. According to the latest polls, majority of citizens still believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction. Although the results are better than for the previous government, people have still not felt any improvement in their everyday lives.
The major problem for the government is what to do with INA and HEP. Prime Minister’s plan to partially privatize HEP in order to fully nationalize INA has met a rather strong resistance from coalition partners, opposition, civil society, and even some parts of HDZ. It seems that the government does not know what it wants to do, so it has done what it always does is such a situation – it has established a committee to determine what needs to be done. The committee should supposedly advise the government, but since all the members of the committee are ministers, it seems that they will be advising themselves.
The other important problem is emigration of young Croats. According to the latest data, in the last year Croatian labour market has lost 60,000 people, and most of them probably emigrated. Although the government is in office just three months, the previous ruling coalition had the same parties like the current ones, so HDZ and MOST cannot escape their part of responsibility.
The government is also not quite sure what to do with regards to historical issues from the Second World War, so it has again decided to form a committee to look into it and give recommendations.
Of course, there are many other successes and crisis which the government has met in the last three months and whose solution does not seem imminent. The good news is that the coalition seems to be stable and that, unlike the previous government, this one will quite likely survive until the end of the term.
