Cobankovic rescued Kosor like she rescued Sanader

If it is time for the truth, as the PM says, when is it coming and does the current government has the power to create better policy?

How many times can the same old promise to farmers be recycled? So far, this method has worked: another farmer protest was extinguished and the Prime Minister did not have to step into the mud or deal with the fury of the crowd. What she did in the middle of last year for Sanader,  minister Cobankovic now did for her. Everything else will be resolved by taxpayers' money or at least settled until the next tractor protests. It is likely that the next protest will happen in June of the next year because this is when 205 million kunas, which the government promised to farmers last year, is due. This same promise was repeated in the night from Sunday to Monday.

Agricultural policies that led to the great gap between the budgetary possibilities and farmer's expectations, as well as incoherence between the money invested in agriculture and market results, remains the same and nothing changes in the leadership technique. Government responded to the  tractor blockade with its usual assertions that there was 'no money' and justification that it offered 'maximum possible' funds. This was followed by a sudden finding of additional, even if fictitious,  money and  another rescheduled promise. Scenario is similar to that of last year, but  'enriched' with a systematic use of exhaustion tactics and followed by a greater engagement of Karamarkov's men on the field.
All figures show that the existing system of agricultural incentives is unsustainable. The largest agricultural authorities, who are not guided by any party or other lobbying interests, argue that the current system is expensive and inefficient. While the European Union incentives cover about 15 percent of the value of agricultural production, Croatia's level of incentives in relation to the market value of production is almost double. This system of incentives has not led to improving of the competitiveness of domestic agriculture,or cheaper production, but it actually paid for the illusion of social security. The worst of all is that system like that, which served more as a sort of welfare than the development stimulus, cemented the bad structure of agricultural production based on cultures that do not make good profits.

The agricultural branch reproached the authorities for giving incentives based on the size of agricultural land, rather than the quantity of production. European Union introduced  incentives based on the agricultural area to reduce excessive agricultural production, but this problem is reversed in Croatia. Its production makes up only 0.3 percent of European production, compared to 1 percent of European consumption.
The system of loans for capital investments in agriculture is a separate story and our authorities are frequently reluctant to discuss it. The state offered huge amounts of money (up to 3.5 million Kunas in cash) for agricultural investment with bank loans and there was a lot of room left for controversies. For example,  father was able to sell his land to the son, who would then get plenty of cash from the state that supplemented his previusly acquired bank loan.  All of this is more or less known, but the public has still shown a lot of sympathy for the farmers during the recently completed protests. Even Transportation Carriers asked farmers to unblock the roads and wrapped their appeals in expressions of  sympathy for their situation. The Government however did not explain much, no one gave public speech concerning the important facts about the real financial situation of the  agricultural reforms and incentives or clarified the government's next step. Clear and convincing arguments are still missing. If it's 'time for the truth' and if there is no room left for ' scams ', as the Prime Minister says, hearing some true facts and government's new plans would make her arguments more convincing.

When it comes to agriculture, the point is clear. Nobody in the government is innocent. Agricultural policy is designed to strengthen the political alliance between the HDZ and the HSS, and it was formed while predictions claimed that GDP would reach a 6 percent growth.  Farmers developed their production plans and financial borrowing based on this policy and they can really not be blamed for this. Last year, when things started going downhill, their discontent was muted with yet another unrealistic promise. Although the current law contains a  a clause that states that our government would perform duties 'in accordance with the budgetary possibilities,' politician's verbal promises ring louder than the legal documents. Who reads laws anyway?

Thus, in order to avoid  too much digging through the history, the burden of the dangerous crisis and the road blockade was taken on by only one minister (former PM  Sanader employed two Deputy Prime Ministers last year for this task) . Neither the head of the HDZ or the HSS leader experienced much of media attention. However, Friscic's statement given in the interview to Novi List was noteworthy because he says that it is not true that the HSS is in charge 'of only one of its segments,' or that he can only care about agriculture without considering other sectors. The turn for company-paid-meals, Christmas bonuses, health and education, will also come; which suggests that the ruling party's leadership is becoming increasingly aware that omissions, delays, and fragmentary moves are no longer a viable way of government's functioning. Will someone address the nation in a comprehensive, honest and augmented way? Is the government going to convince the public that it has the strength to offer better policies, or should we brace ourselves for another weekend of paralysis?