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Book ’20 Years of Croatian Business’ Presented in Koprivnica

The promotion of the book ’20 Years of Croatian Business’ was held last night at the Mijo Kovačić Gallery in Koprivnica. The author, Lider journalist Goran Litvan, reflected on his journalistic career, which began in his hometown. The reminiscence took place in a commemorative atmosphere. Just these days, the Vjesnik skyscraper, where he spent about twenty years as a journalist for Večernji and Jutarnji lists, burned down. He first encountered journalism as the editor of the Secondary School Newspaper SOL at the Koprivnica Printing House, and he also collaborated with the local weekly Glas Podravine. By coincidence, the demolition of both the Printing House and the building of the local weekly has begun these days, thus half of his journalistic career has suddenly gone into history.

Speakers about the book included Miodrag Šajatović, editor-in-chief of the business weekly Lider Miodrag Šajatović, and reviewer Mladen Vedriš, while the discussion was moderated by publicist Željko Krušelj, who pointed out the thoroughness of Litvan’s research illustrated by a series of data, which presents a realistic picture of the past twenty years without political bias.

Miodrag Šajatović emphasized that the project was initiated on the occasion of twenty years of Lider, but also that the book has exceeded all editorial expectations in terms of quality and depth.

Mladen Vedriš spoke about some inconsistencies in the Croatian economy, which are also presented in the book, and warned of the lack of strategic thinking, as well as the fact that in today’s time of rapid changes, it is significantly more important to react promptly to new circumstances.

The author assessed Croatia’s entry into the European Union as the dominant social, political, and business event in these twenty years. Namely, the accession negotiations began in the week when the first issue of Lider was published. Litvan claims that the adaptation to EU acquis has directed practically the entire regulation, including in the economy. The influence of the EU has brought much good to Croatia. However, it is a pity that more money from European funds has not been directed towards the economy and raising productivity and competitiveness.

Visitors also participated in the discussion, and one of the questions for the author was how he would solve the problem of agriculture, which is crucial for the Koprivnica region.

– In short, the key problem lies in the incentive system that replaces social benefits and buys votes in elections. Those who cannot make ends meet from agriculture should be given social assistance, and incentives should be directed towards entrepreneurs. Additionally, the state should create conditions that would reverse the situation in which we export the cheapest wheat while importing expensive pastries and cakes, said Litvan.

It is worth noting that this event brought together three mayors of Koprivnica in one place – Zvonimir Mršić, Vesna Želježnjak, and the current Mišel Jakšić. Their joint mandate has been uninterrupted since 2001.

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