ZAGREB, June 1, 2018 – President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Friday criticised the political elite, saying that it has alienated itself from the people and that many citizens feel injustice because the system is not treating everyone the same. She called for joint effort to resolve the problems in Croatian society, underscoring that the demographic issue was crucial.
Grabar-Kitarović temporarily relocated her office to Osijek and in her address at the start of her stay she said that the “Croatian people want a decent and normal life,” in which they won’t have to think about whether they can support one, two or more children and whether they can make ends meet, a life in which workers will earn a decent pay and employers will be relieved of unnecessary levies. She added that these are the problems and reasons because of which young people were emigrating, particularly from Slavonia.
She once again reiterated that the demographic issue is crucial for Croatia and that there is no more time to defer resolving the demographic crisis. The president stressed it was high time for an action plan to be adopted and concrete comprehensive measures to be implemented which will last longer than one government term.
She commended the initiative presented by the MOST party – Stay Movement – saying that synergy in resolving critical issues is important in order to renew trust by Croatian citizens in the country’s institutions.
She reiterated that she was sorry the government rejected her proposal for a joint meeting. “I will continue to work on these problems and on June 11, I will present the measures that I have prepared with my advisers and will discuss them with all the relevant stakeholders in the political and social life, in order to achieve agreement on their implementation,” she underscored.
She recalled and welcomed the government’s “Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem” project as part of the Competitiveness and Cohesion operational programme and Rural Development programme, which has resulted in the absorption of more than six billion kuna in funding.
