Fifty Faces of the Crisis

The problem arises when both money and illusions are taken from you. This is precisely what happens during a crisis – most people have faced a decline in income and living standards, while at the same time their illusions of prosperity have collapsed, replaced by general pessimism and fear. The longer the crisis lasts, the deeper the consequences will be for society as a whole.

IN THE NEW ISSUE OF THE BUSINESS WEEKLY LEADER, TAKE A STEP FURTHER AND LEARN MUCH MORE ABOUT CURRENT ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

Expensive watches have been replaced by cheap brooches, but there is nothing new in legislation. The current government is hastily introducing as many misguided laws as possible that will then need to be ‘de-Kosorized’. The Law on Golf Courses and the Law on Tourist Land are clear examples of regulations that must be ‘de-Sanaderized’ (radically changed or abolished) following Ivo Sanader’s resignation. Sanader attempted to introduce the right of larger private owners to seize the property of smaller private owners for the consolidation of their private holdings through the golf law into the Croatian legal system. Before the proposal of the golf law, only the ‘state’ could seize property from a private owner against their will based on the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction solely according to the provisions on urban consolidation. More in Ivica Grčar’s story ‘After Sanader, the Ridiculed Laws Need to Be Revised and Reaffirmed’.

In Croatia, the crisis has led to enormous illiquidity, a decrease in investments and consumption, but it has also changed the entire model of behavior. Therefore, we bring a reminder of the changes that show that for some, the sun still shines in this situation. They see new opportunities in the crisis and devise new businesses. People recover more easily when their money is taken than when their illusions are taken, concluded American writer Tennessee Williams. The problem arises when both money and illusions are taken from you. This is precisely what happens during a crisis – most people have faced a decline in income and living standards, while at the same time their illusions of prosperity have collapsed, replaced by general pessimism and fear. Suspicious consumers In Croatia, as we see every day, the crisis has led to enormous illiquidity, a decrease in investments and consumption. Personal consumption, as the most important generator of GDP growth, is under the negative influence of rising unemployment, falling net wages, and slowed crediting of citizens. On the other hand, citizens’ savings are increasing. More on all the faces of the recession in the feature article by Matilda Bačelić and Antonija Knežević.

Since taking over the hot seat after Boško Matković, Tonči Peović, director of Zagreb Airport, has been accused of conflict of interest and incompetence, but he has not publicly explained his position or detailed the strategy he wants to apply in the further development of ZL Zagreb. Peović, in an exclusive interview for Lider, claims: ‘If Croatia Airlines does not pay its debt, we will charge its passengers!’

Why Croatia does not want to produce profitable films and why it is deliberately losing out on co-productions is revealed by Vanja Figenwald. In fact, Croatia has lost around one hundred million euros a year in the last ten years due to complete neglect and ignorance of film as an industrial product, claims Hrvoje Hribar, the former president of the Croatian Film Directors’ Society, and puts this figure in context by comparing it to the annual revenue from television advertising (last year it was 639 million kuna).

Our advisor, Prof. Dr. Hrvoje Kačer, writes about the Law on Universities. The fear of losing legal personality that troubles state faculties is not a problem for private universities, nor is it an issue that they protect the rights of owners. If the Draft Law on Universities passes, it will finally be an opportunity for us to get private universities!

Portugal, Spain, and Ireland – these names are the nightmares of EU leaders these days, while the tug-of-war over ‘to help Greece or not’ continues. All three countries are recording large deficits, rising unemployment, and structural problems. If they fail to stabilize their economies, the exit from the crisis will hit them the hardest. More in the story ‘Despite the fear that they are the next problem for the Union, Spanish salaries have risen by three percent’.

In Business Knowledge, read about learning foreign languages in later life. When adults embark on learning foreign languages, and today it is difficult to be a manager without knowledge of at least English, frustrations usually ‘align’ and many think they simply are not talented for languages. However, this is not true. Anyone can learn to use a foreign language quite well; the condition is to understand, not to ‘cram’.

Tony Hayward, the head of British Petroleum, is the main character of this week’s serial. Since he took the most attractive corporate chair in May 2007, Hayward has managed to push the company forward by cutting costs by four billion dollars and laying off 7,500 workers. However, BP has not managed to return to third place on the list of the largest oil companies. Hayward justifies his large raise for 2009 with a concession for oil exploration near the Brazilian coast. (G. J.)

The new Lider offers its readers two special supplements: ‘Dolce Vita’ and ‘Small Economy’