Addressing reporters in Sisak after a meeting on a programme of support to SMEs in Sisak-Moslavina County, Ćorić said that he had heard that his name was mentioned a lot during the rally and that protestors called for his resignation.
“Do not expect me to comment on that or on the wishes of those who are generally inspired by the leaders of the association that organised the protest. I have said all I had to say about them. I believe that their demands are incredible on the one hand and on the other, these people have a political agenda, which is evident in the fact that quite a lot of opposition members were there,” Ćorić told reporters.
Asked to comment on the fact that there were a lot of students and other people at the protest who do not have any connections with UGP, Ćorić said that there are different types of people dissatisfied with the situation in the country, adding “Let’s get back to the reasons for the dissatisfaction of the association that organised the protest with my conduct and my position.”
“They can be found in the fact that at one of the meetings that we organised, the government made it clear that reducing VAT in the current situation, when the budget is under a lot of strain and a part of businesses have been closed, is not realistic. As minister I will always clearly articulate my stance on whatever topic when that is necessary. And I did so before these businessmen in this concrete case too, and I don’t see anything wrong about it,” added Ćorić.
Asked about a proposal that could be heard at the protest, namely that government ministers receive a wage HRK 4,000 until the end of the year, Ćorić said that there is no need for that and that the proposal is nothing more than populism, “which is something we have been witnessing frequently in Croatia lately.”
