President Ivo Josipovic on Friday commented on the first six months in office of the coalition government of Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, saying that a series of reforms had been launched but without tangible results.
"For the first time we have more small businesses opened than shut, reforms have been launched, the budget has been reduced, major projects are being planned, but business regulations are still too complicated," Josipovic said in an interview with the Media Servis radio production organisation.
Josipovic said he would be able to speak about his satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the government only after he saw initial results, which he said he expected already this year, especially those concerning employment growth.
Commenting on the resignation of Mirela Holy as Minister of Environmental and Nature Protection, he said that it was "an expression of a high level of political responsibility."
"Maybe someone took advantage of her carelessness, but the crucial thing is that she made a mistake," Josipovic said, stressing that the former minister had launched "some very important things" in this important department and that he hoped that new Minister Mihael Zmajlovic would follow in her footsteps.
Josipovic would not assess the acceptability of the Ombla hydroelectric power plant construction project, saying that he was not competent enough to assess the environmental aspects of the project, but that as president and citizen he demanded compliance with the highest standards of environmental protection.
When asked to comment on the government's intention to abolish some of the rights from the collective agreements, the President said: "The policy of constant borrowing and debt growth is not possible any more. We can spend what we have, and what remains open is the question of redistribution." He added that he expected all social partners -- the trade unions, the employers and the government -- to address this issue responsibly.
Commenting on today's dismissal of Vladimir Seks and Jadranka Kosor as deputy speakers of parliament, Josipovic said that such a decision had been expected because their party, the HDZ, had changed its mind and decided to put other people in those positions. "That's part of democracy and most parliamentary deputies respected that today," he added.
When asked if he planned to meet new Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic soon, Josipovic said that good neighbourly relations were in Croatia's interest, but that arranging Nikolic's visit to Zagreb was not a priority at the moment. "There are no such plans for now, let's leave it for later," he said.
