The excessive interest of citizens and the possible reduction of the privileged package to less than 38,000 kuna could backfire on Sanader. It is inconvenient to first offer a candy to the electorate and then take part of it away.
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Written by: Miodrag Šajatović |
Of the proposals on how to spend the money from the sale of T-HT, the most interesting is that companies are paid to open new jobs. |
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From a journalistic-editorial standpoint, it is not the happiest solution to dedicate a weekly column to the same topic twice in a row. It was agreed that this week’s topic would focus on the new attempt by the Austrian oil company OMV to take over the Hungarian MOL. Despite all my will, I could not find enough motivation for that. The truth is that the developments regarding the fate of MOL could have a long-term impact on the Croatian oil company Ina, primarily through the stock price, which has once again started to rise, much to the satisfaction of its owners. However, unfortunately, Ina is an object in the whole story, not a subject. Thus, today’s column turns to the euphoria of the initial public offering of the state package of T-HT shares. Perhaps under the impression of hundreds of thousands of citizens who signed up for the allowed package worth 38,000 kuna and the lines stretching in front of the buildings of Erste Bank, Croatian Postal Bank, and Fina, the temperature and engagement of the broad Croatian public regarding how much will be earned on the shares of Hrvatski Telekom can be measured against the atmosphere from about ten years ago when VAT was introduced. Indeed, the introduction of VAT was accompanied by a 99% negative public opinion, and in the case of the rush for T-HT shares, the layer that is signing up for shares conceals the possible discontent of the poorer layer that cannot afford it. When it comes to T-HT shares, as far as the Government is concerned, excessive interest from citizens could backfire on it. It will be unpleasant if the package of shares has to be reduced to less than the subscribed 38,000 kuna. It is inconvenient to first offer a candy to the electorate and then take part of it away. In the web edition of Lider regarding last week’s Ekonomalije, a discussion developed among readers. The most contentious thesis was that the money from the sale of T-HT should end up ‘in investments that would enable production, especially for export.’ Some interpreted this stance as a possibility for politicians in power to spend money without control. In the end, with some raised voices, web democracy led to a kind of consensus. Simply put, politicians should henceforth commit to spending the funds collected from the sale of share packages exclusively for returning that capital to stimulate production, exports, and quality new jobs. Of course, among the participants in the ‘forum’ are those who only care about the development of the capital market and their own profit. That is their right, but these business newspapers want to think more broadly about every economic move. Therefore, the proposals on what should be done with the revenues from privatization are interesting. One, signed by Dom, states: ‘For example, one-time severance payments could be given to about 70% of the parasites who vegetate in municipalities, cities, and counties and who suffocate citizens with their stamps, paragraphs, and other Kafkaesque intricacies that waste people’s time and hinder them from performing productive actions.’ The second proposal from the same author is that ‘this money could subsidize jobs that foreign companies would open in business parks and areas of special interest. This would work excellently in combination with simplifying bureaucracy and reducing the tax burden. (…) Just imagine the disbelief or even anger with which the average citizen of Croatia would respond to a proposal to pay, say, Google 20,000 euros per job it opens in one of the Zagreb business parks and then also grant them a tax relief on profits for the first five years. It sounds absurd, but that is exactly how Ireland attracted American corporations in the 90s,’ concluded Dom. Therefore, the money must remain outside the state budget, but this creates a new problem. The idea would quickly be compromised if the money from future sales (e.g., HEP) ended up in the Development and Employment Fund, which today spends hundreds of millions of kuna without the public being able to find out according to what criteria. Thus, the reach of economic policy in Croatia remains at the sale of family silver and the expensive buying of votes for elections. |
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