The president of the Croatian People's Party (HNS), Radimir Cacic, visited the Social Democratic Party (SDP) headquarters in Zagreb on Wednesday and for more than an hour held talks with SDP leader and future prime minister designate Zoran Milanovic, but declined to tell reporters after the talks if the SDP-led coalition reached an agreement on who would be at the helm of ministries and public companies.
Asked if he and Milanovic agreed on all ministerial positions and if Ivan Vrdoljak and Andrea Zlatar of the HNS would be at the helm of the ministries of agriculture and culture, Cacic said everything had been arranged by a coalition agreement which the SDP, the HNS, the Istrian Democratic Party and the Croatian Pensioners' Party signed several months ago, adding that the foundations of that agreement had been agreed two and a half years ago.
Cacic and Milanovic discussed the state budget for 2012, public companies and their structure and management, as well as some segments of reforms within the government.
The talks did not address the ministerial positions because there is nothing to talk about, Cacic said adding that everything would be made public once the coalition leaders reach an agreement.
Asked who would be at the helm of public companies and which companies would be managed by members of his party, Cacic, answered slightly annoyed: "What kind of a question is that? This isn't the HDZ-led government, HNS will not be getting anything nor will anything be given away. For the first time in history, the Croatian government consists of strategic partners who rely on one another. This is not a circus from 2003 and 2007," Caic said.
Asked again by reporters about mechanisms and criteria according to which the management in public companies would be appointed, Cacic told reporters that he would most definitely not discuss this with them, adding that they would be informed about in a timely fashion.
