"I would say that a good foundation was laid down and that the budget was reduced realistically," Josipovic said in response to questions from the press in Primorski Dolac, a municipality in the hinterland of the coastal town of Trogir.

He said Croatia was now entering "a new stage" in which the government was expected to pave the way for new investment, adding that he expected soon the completion of the first stage involving organisation, profiling of institutions and new people, so that "the first good results" could be had soon.

The most important thing we all expect of the government, and it promised this, is an improved investment climate, so that we are capable and ready to change all those complicated regulations which make investors tell us that we complicate too much and that they will rather go somewhere else, said Josipovic.

Asked if the government was doing a good job or not, he said "for now, it is doing what it pledged, but we can always expect more and better."

Asked what he would say to "the desperate workers who are being laid off," Josipovic said his recommendation was, "watch your health and fight for your rights." He added that the welfare state and its leaders must take care of those who lost their jobs.

"The state can't invest forever in companies which are not successful on the market, but on the other hand, it has the obligation, through care and retraining, to enable people to lead normal lives."