ZAGREB, May 23, 2018 – President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has said that Croatians today have their own state but that they do not have a society of prosperity, and that a moral renaissance is needed as well because the system does not treat everyone the same way, which is what young people feel and because of which they are emigrating.
Grabar-Kitarović said this at a special session of the Lika-Senj County Assembly, held on Wednesday on the occasion of the county’s day. “Today we have our own state but we do not have a society of prosperity, and we also need a moral renaissance. I believe that that is one of the main reasons why people are emigrating. Our people feel injustice because the system does not treat everyone equally. We still have not made state institutions function the right way, and that is especially felt by young people who are seeking a life in dignity in Ireland, Germany and other countries,” the president said.
She said that she had proposals for demographic revival and that she would soon present them to the public, either with the government or on her own.
Commenting on the situation in the ailing food and retail group Agrokor, Grabar-Kitarović said that even though that issue was important, it had taken the government too much time and energy, while reforms were standing still. She expressed hope that 40,000 jobs had been saved with the Law on Emergency Administration in Systemic Companies (Lex Agrokor) but noted that over the past year twice as many people had left the country.
Grabar-Kitarović added that the vast border area without domestic population “is practically an open invitation for incursions by migrants”, which, she said, could lead to security challenges. “That is why keeping local residents in those areas and settling them in the future is of crucial importance not only for the security but for the survival of the Croatian state,” said Grabar-Kitarović.
