The First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister, Radimir Cacic, said on Wednesday that unemployment would continue to rise in April and would reach its peak in early May, after which it was expected to begin to fall later that month and in June and the economy should start picking up.
"If in that momentum, which is of a seasonal nature, we fail to carry out investment projects that we are preparing, and if we don't get the economy going, then this government doesn't stand a chance," Cacic said in a Croatian Television late-night current affairs talk show.
Cacic said it was not up to him to assess the government's performance in the first 100 days in office, because that was done by rating agencies. He noted that the Croatian government was the only one in Europe to have retained its rating and that it had obtained a lower interest rate on its foreign debt by about one per cent in the last two months, saving about 500 million euros. "That's how much this government earned with its good rating," he added.
Cacic said that the task of the present government was to "aggressively and radically" change the economic strategy of the previous government by cutting unproductive spending and by protecting, as much as possible, the most vulnerable social groups. He said that for the first time in its history Croatia had a budget that was lower than last year's in both real and nominal terms, "which is what the rating agencies appreciate."
He said that there would not be any major reforms of the pension and health systems, while the education system would follow labour market trends.
Speaking of the Kutina-based artificial fertiliser manufacturer Petrokemija, Cacic said that it was not a subject of his talks in Russia earlier this week. "It's not a strategic company," he said, adding that Petrokemija needed to increase production and become more environmentally friendly, which he said required considerable investment.
When asked whether Petrokemija was being considered for sale, Cacic said that the insurance company Croatia Osiguranje and the postal bank HPB had been considered for sale, but that no decision had been reached.
"As for Petrokemija, several strong companies from European countries and a major financial institution, the EBRD, have approached us saying that they would give their offers should a decision on privatisation be made. Some Russian companies have also contacted us to that effect," Cacic said.
Cacic said he considered his appointment and the appointment of Finance Minister Slavko Linic to the Supervisory Board of the INA oil company to be a good move, adding that Croatia owned 44.75 per cent of the company and did not have much influence in it.
He announced increases in prices of electricity and natural gas before summer.
