It is expected that the handover between the outgoing and incoming Prime Minister might take place on Wednesday evening.
The outgoing Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković will soon hand over his duties to incoming Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. According to sources, Tihomir Orešković will leave politics for the time being and return to the private sector. He will most likely go abroad to a large international company. However, he will have to be careful not to break provisions of the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest, which significantly reduce the room for possible employment, reports Večernji List on October 18, 2016.
According to Dalija Orešković, president of the Commission for Prevention of Conflict of Interest, the former Prime Minister will not be able to be a member of a board of directors or a supervisory board during the next 12 months. The Prime Minister will also have to be careful that his new company does not work for the government. However, the law is vague and there are no serious sanctions if a public official were to ignore a possible warning by the Commission. In addition, Croatian companies can be fined with up to as much as a million kuna, but it has never happened so far. And companies which have headquarters abroad cannot be fined at all.
Prime Minister Orešković had five close associates who will have leave the government, unless Andrej Plenković decides to keep them. Neven Zelić, Prime Minister’s chief of staff, his deputy Tomislav Pokaz and spokeswoman Sunčana Glavak are state officials who have the right to receive full salary for six months, and then half a salary for another six months.
Zelić has a law firm to which he would probably want to return, but he cannot because he would be in a conflict of interest. He claims that he is practically being forced to receive a salary from the state budget for a year. Tomislav Pokaz will return to the Ministry of Economy where he used to worked before as the chief of a sector, while Sunčana Glavak did not want to comment on her plans.
Advisor for Domestic Policy Davor Huić says he will return to his private company and to the Lipa Association, which is committed to reducing taxes and introducing rational public administration. Jakša Puljiz, advisor for European funds, will return to the Institute for Development and International Relations, where he will continue his scientific career. Foreign policy advisor Stjepo Bartulica will return to the Catholic University where he teaches political philosophy. He will also be active in the civil sector.
“I am leaving with some very good experiences. I can say only the best out about boss. He was consistent and firm in its goals and he knew how to lead the team”, says Bartulica, adding that Orešković, despite being a political outsider, very quickly adapted to local and international politics.
