At the end of last year, he warned about inflation, to which the authorities waved their hands dismissively, as if joking. He also warned that the anti-inflation measures of the HNB would have negative consequences if not supported by the Government. The authorities, what a surprise, did not listen to him, and now we have an even greater balance of payments deficit, reduced overall liquidity in the economy, a strengthening kuna, and rising interest rates!
Written by: Gordana Gelenčer
[email protected]
The old rule that thieves are almost always a step ahead of the police in Croatia has for some time (thankfully!) transformed into a saying, somewhat already in public opinion – Rohatinski is always a step ahead of the Government! The first man of an institution that is completely unimportant to most people has in a year or two turned into a forced, yet successful firefighter, and that is because he is the only one who made sure he has something to extinguish with. The HNB, in fact, today is the only one with excess money and the only one with instruments to further supply banks with capital, should it be needed again (and it surely will). Željko Rohatinski is a man whom everyone, even the market vendors, listens to carefully and, despite his speech impediment and professional economic topics, they understand him very well. Therefore, it truly did not surprise anyone that the Croatian Association for Public Relations declared the governor the communicator of the year. At a time when we are being buried under spin as a key to communication (which has almost excluded content and its importance altogether), such a choice shows that public communication needs people who have something to say, regardless of how (im)perfectly they will articulate it.
Despite his speech difficulties, Rohatinski speaks crystal clear. He warned us at the end of last year about inflation, to which the authorities waved their hands dismissively, as if joking. In January, he predicted that this year inflation could not be less than six percent (in August it reached 8.4 percent). He warned that the anti-inflation measures of the HNB (limiting the growth of loans and foreign borrowing, reducing open market operations which are a source of short-term liquidity for banks, defending the kuna exchange rate) would have negative consequences if not supported by the Government with its economic policy. The authorities, what a surprise, did not listen to him, and now we have an even greater balance of payments deficit, reduced overall liquidity in the economy, a strengthening kuna, and rising interest rates!
