ZAGREB, October 13, 2019 – The Social Democratic Party’s candidate for President of the Republic, former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, said on Saturday that the government should raise wages for nurses and teachers, but not for the police, military and diplomats.
Answering questions from the press during a visit to the northern city of Čakovec, Milanović said that at this moment people caring for the elderly, infirm and sick and those teaching children English and mathematics were more important.
Asked to comment on the ongoing strike by primary and secondary school teachers, given that in 2015 he had called similar union demands comical, Milanovic said that the sum in question now was 400 million kuna (54 million euro) and that this government could afford it.
“I had to displease people because there was no money then. Interest on loans was seven percent and now it’s one percent. A month before the parliamentary election we were dealing with loans in Swiss francs,” he said.
Milanović said that the priority for him was to raise wages for nurses and teachers, but not for the police. “We are a democratic state, we have the police, but we are not a police state,” he said, adding that diplomats and the military were not a priority either.
The SDP presidential candidate believes that the Croatian troops should be withdrawn from Afghanistan to avoid political and security problems. “Croatia needs a small, efficient and well-paid army,” he said.
However, he said he was not against maintaining the fighter jet squadron, and that Croatia should buy fighter jets directly from the United States. “The US is our only true great ally, while Israel is not,” he said.
“Americans or nothing, that’s not granting preferential treatment to the US producer. Israel is a Middle East country which is our friend and which tried to flog US aircraft to us. If you are buying military equipment, buy American,” Milanović concluded.
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