PM talks protesting war veterans, opposition chief, motorways lease

Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said on Monday he had no comment on Saturday's protest by war veterans outside his home, adding that he was not home, but had he been, he would have come out because he "would always come out among people."

"My wife told me she didn't know if that was support or a protest, that people were calling me. Had I been there, I would have come out," he told reporters on a visit to Nova Gradiska, where he attended the opening of a new plant of the Atlantic Grupa company.

Asked if he was sailing with General Ante Gotovina on Saturday, as reported by a newspaper, Milanovic said, "I spend my time as I please and won't comment on that."

As for war veterans who have been protesting outside their ministry for more than four months, he said he could not see what the problem was. "They want the minister to resign. He won't go. He's an upstanding and honest man who is doing his job well and with his heart. I'm sorry about this. It's evidently all politics."

Asked to comment on opposition leader Tomislav Karamarko's statement that he would not allow to be pitted against Milanovic, the prime minister said, "I have a job, responsibility. I think the results will be visible after three and not five years, as they are saying."

He said that if Karamarko "wants to be prime minister, he must come out of the president's shadow a little because she is talking about matters that are not within her remit. Let him come out and let's talk. It doesn't have to be a quarrel. I have no time for that," he said, calling on Karamarko to present his view of political economy, taxes, the organisation of the state, the European Council, and the European Semester.

Members of the press asked why he did not invite Karamarko to talks, to which he replied, "We have been talking in parliament. For three years now."

"There hasn't been one bill. I'm inviting the opponent to a debate. If someone calls himself the head of the opposition, the public should know beforehand who they are dealing with. Let's put our cards on the table. For that I have time, but not for these stories to attract attention," Milanovic said.

He would not say if Transport Minister Sinisa Hajdas Doncic tendered his resignation after the government scrapped its plan to lease motorways to monetise their debts. "The monetisation of the public debt hasn't been scrapped. That's within the finance minister's remit, if you will. This is about monetising the public debt, reducing the public debt. We must pull out of the jaws of interest rates because interest rates aren't killing us, but they are detrimental to us."

Milanovic said the decision to scrap the motorway lease was made after talks at the government. "Someone succeeded in convincing citizens that the intention is to sell off Croatian property, our motorways, which will legally be ours in 25 years' time. They aren't ours yet. Someone was well-organised, creating a movement that is detrimental to Croatia."

As for a possible referendum on oil and gas exploitation in the Adriatic Sea, Milanovic said that a decision would be made after exploration was conducted, but that Croatia must know what it has. "The people will decide at a referendum and we will cover the companies' costs."

"I guess we have the right to know what is beneath Croatia, and when we find out that so many billions of cubic metres of gas are beneath, perhaps then we can agree to plug it up nicely, put up a flag and not touch it for 300 years," he said, ironically adding that thousands of jobs and billions of dollars "are all unimportant."

"Five people will be able to sail in their boat... Everything will be nice and clean for them... We can ban exploitation to spite everyone. Be spiteful, Dalmatia," the prime minister said ironically.

Asked about the building of a new bridge on the Sava near Stara Gradiska, he said the Ciovo and Peljesac bridges were more important right now. "This bridge is more important for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Banja Luka (city) government. We will be constructive. I would like them to be too. About the border, let's say."

(Hina) ha

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