Darija Prša revealed to us why she resigned from Narodne novine

It is not very common, in fact, it is a pure rarity, for someone with good business results and without any scandal to voluntarily resign from the top position of a state company, as Darija Prša, now the former CEO of Narodne novine, did unexpectedly on January 31. Given that Lider was the last media outlet with which Prša communicated, just a month before she resigned, this prompted us to read her answers to our questions carefully once again and try to find the reason for her departure from Narodne novine.

Well, it seems we found it. Although we did not ask her, Prša felt the need to comment on a problem that had evidently been troubling her for some time.

– The public sector is always viewed differently, and the criteria are definitely not the same: in the private sector, business successes and results seem to be valued and recognized more. In successful state companies, especially those operating in the free market and generating their revenues from it, a lot of work and effort must be invested. Sometimes even more than in private ones, because private companies have much fewer restrictions, such as the obligation to apply the Public Procurement Act, which reduces our flexibility and competitiveness.

And that invested effort, work, and knowledge, which then bring good business results, are not as visible, or are not perceived as they would be in private companies. The reasons are various: most often insufficient expertise or indifference from those who should recognize it, and sometimes just the need to minimize the work of successful directors. Unfortunately, due to such an approach, qualified people often flee from the public sector to the private one – Prša described the situation.

According to information obtained by Forbes Croatia, Prša has moved to a company owned by Oleg Uskoković, Media Solutions, which has taken over Novi list and plans to further expand its media network across Croatia. The management of Narodne novine has been taken over by Silvija Žužul, the only remaining member of the management of that public company.