Tedeschi: This economic model is unsustainable, the government needs to reduce resistance to reforms

The CEO of Atlantic Group, Emil Tedeschi, stated on Thursday in Dubrovnik that Croatia needs reforms because the economic model is unsustainable, and that the government should reduce or break the resistance of interest groups, noting that we live too well in relation to how much we earn.

Before a guest lecture for students at the University of Dubrovnik, Tedeschi emphasized in response to journalists’ questions that while everyone is declaratively in favor of changes, there is often resistance when it comes to their implementation.

– Croatia needs changes and reforms. Declaratively, people and political parties are in favor of changes, but when certain changes are proposed, they encounter resistance from interest groups. This resistance should be reduced through dialogue, and some things need to be broken. Everyone will be against corruption and illegal behavior, but there are a whole range of ways in our society that have become entrenched and need to be changed. The old government proposed some meaningful things, and this government is proposing some meaningful things as well. Remember the proposal for the monetization of highways, and the new government is proposing the monetization of frozen assets. As soon as this was mentioned, voices were raised, and there were threats of leaving the government if privatization begins, said Tedeschi.

– Politicians within one interest group cannot agree. This economic model is unsustainable for Croatia. We spend too much in relation to what we create. We live too well in relation to how much we earn. Some changes will also be painful, but they must start happening as soon as possible. People need to be explained what will be more expensive and why, he emphasized.

Milanović’s government was not brave enough in reforms

When asked how successful Milanović’s government was in ‘breaking’ in relation to this government and at the request to comment on possible privatizations of state companies, Tedeschi responded that Milanović’s government was successful in insisting on legality and reducing corruption, but not in implementing reforms.

– On the other hand, it was not brave enough in reforms or privatization. The new government says that everything that is not state resources and state monopolies should be privatized. All of this needs to be put into the function of the economy. Neither this nor the previous government has any major differences in their direction. This government has a more complicated majority in the Parliament and is slower than the previous one. That is not necessarily negative, but it remains to be seen what will be realized from what has been announced, emphasized Tedeschi.

He also told students that the government should be dissolved if it sells our waters and forests, but this does not apply to various factories or some hotels that the government has in its portfolio. He assessed that the state is “careless with the resource of space that we are systematically destroying” and that we behave “arrogantly” towards people.

– Our environment is heartfelt, so we dealt with one elite in 1941, another in ’45, a third in ’48, then in 1968 and 1971, etc. Then in 1991, then in 1999, then in 2001, 2004, and every four years we systematically try to cut down those who have been somewhere and created something because some smarter ones have come to power, said Tedeschi.

Speaking about Atlantic Group, he emphasized that it developed “by a simplified principle: avoid dependence on one factor and always try to become number one” and that it started with six people, and today there are 5,500.

– Since we started, we have fought to avoid dependence on one person, one product, market, supplier, customer, and raw material, and we have tried to be the best, he said.