MOST talks about cuts and public sector pay.
Economic strategist of MOST Ivan Lovrinović, who is expected to have an important role in the incoming Croatian government, has said that all the key reforms of the new government have already been announced. “There are five major reforms, including monetary policy, taxation, public administration and public enterprises. The focus of our activities will be in those areas of responsibility”, he said, reports Jutarnji List on December 31, 2015.
He praised the outgoing finance minister Boris Lalovac. “He is a serious man and has played a major role in solving the problem with loans in the Swiss franc”, he added. “We should first see what the major problems are. The deficit must be reduced, since the biggest problem is the interest on the public debt amounting to 13 billion kuna per year. We should undertake all measures, but the focus will be on increasing revenues in the budget”, Lovrinović said. “We will not cut salaries in the public sector, but we will streamline operations, and this is related to the reform of local government administration. We are convinced that during 2016 we are going to make improvements related to public debt.”
When asked what cuts will be done on the spending side of the budget, he said there was no room for major cuts. “We are not going to cut salaries, but when it comes to state administration, municipalities, counties – we are going to make savings there by streamlining administrative processes. I want to reassure the unions that this government will not be an anti-labour government. We will be socially sensitive”, Lovrinović said. “We will introduce a new management system for the public sector, following the example of the Scandinavian countries, where people know their responsibilities and get a good salary for their efforts”, Lovrinović added in an interview with RTL Television in Croatia.
He also said that the Croatian National Bank (HNB) had still not been a subject of any discussions, but added that, when it comes to the post of the Governor of HNB, MOST will not run away from responsibility. “We want to make changes at places where people can do something, where they are qualified and professional”, he said, adding that people who are not members of political parties should also be included. He said that HNB, as the supreme monetary authority which creates monetary policy, has shown considerable shortcomings and weaknesses and therefore Croatian economy remained in a recession for a long time.
