ZAGREB, May 10, 2018 – There was no time for another option, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told reporters who asked him if it was necessary to have the same people who drafted the so-called Lex Agrokor now implement the law and make millions, which is evident from the e-mails which Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić exchanged with consultants and lawyers during the process of drawing up the said legislation.
“Had we had a year or two, we could have formed two, three task forces and make comparative analyses of insolvency laws. But we did not have that time,” Plenković said, reiterating that Martina Dalić enjoyed his full support. He said that the government, faced with the economic collapse over the problems in Agrokor, had assumed the political responsibility, as had Dalić and other experts included in the process.
“The company is doing business, there were no lay-offs and the government did not allocate any money from the state budget. From my point of view, the global objective has been achieved. Had we had more time, everything would have been more transparent in operative terms,” the prime minister said, reiterating that in his opinion the e-mails Dalić sent contained no significant new element.
Plenković believes that a settlement deal with Agrokor creditors would be signed by 10 July, adding that the current atmosphere made him confident that the deal would happen and that in his opinion the situation involving the contentious emails could not affect the government and the ruling majority. “I believe there is no reason for any of our partners to leave the government,” Plenković said.
Asked if he planned to keep “a slim majority in parliament while the country is sliding downhill,” notably when it comes to emigration, the prime minister said he would not resort to pessimism because nobody in his government was running away from problems, but they were trying to solve them “while the country is moving forward” which, according to Plenković, is evident from figures showing that last year Croatia raised more money than it spent, it has a stable GDP growth and a lower unemployment rate.
He once again dismissed speculation about a government reshuffle.
