Minister of Economy without experience and without political power – Economy

Not much is expected of the new government, especially in its economic part, especially since its mandate is limited and there will be no room for the withdrawal of any significant movement, according to the majority of Danas interlocutors among businessmen, economists and union representatives .

They also point out that the new members of the Government lack experience in the sectors they are assuming and cannot compensate for that with political power, because they do not have it either.

– In Serbia, only one man has political power and I don’t see what they could do without him. I do not calculate how professional they are, they could overcome it by hiring qualified personnel, but if it were not for the first problem. Finally, the departments belonged to people loyal to the regime, an example is the new Minister of Labor and Social Policy. I do not think that she, as an epidemiologist, has other qualities for that position, her profession is simply not compatible with the social policy sector, the labor market. There are many more professional people in those fields in Serbia, mainly economists, but the position in the Government is an expression of will and not of necessity and real relationships, so we will pay the price of such rigid partnership for a long time, says Danilo Šuković of the Institute of Social Sciences.

Alpha University Professor Emeritus Ljubomir Madzar also notes that the fact that this is a “disposable” government will not give its members serious motivation because any major change would require more than those 15 to 16 months for which his term it is limited, it will be a government without influence or special meaning.

– And what they have done so far is so bad that none of the departments can correct it. At a time when GDP is declining, the Ministry of Finance and the highest authorities announce an increase in pensions, salaries in the public sector. Therefore, the new minister Siniša Mali said that Serbia is the only country that has decided to increase wages at a time when everyone else is moving towards restrictions. And whenever Serbia is original, it suffers because it turns out that originality is in conflict with common sense. By the way, the fact that Mali stays in finance is an insult to the thought of Serbia, because if nothing dared to do it is that after that scandal, instead of being immediately removed, he stays and now he gets the next mandate – says Madzar and adds that unknown people have been appointed in important departments for the economy, so these solutions cannot be discussed, except for the observation that being unknown means that their work so far has not led to evaluations positive.

Entrepreneurs don’t have high expectations either, and most of their comments were drawn by two new ministers from the labor and economic sectors, Darija Kisić Tepavčević and Andjelka Atanasković.

Dragoljub Vukadinovic, President of Metalac, says that this time the old staffing principle has also been applied and since the scope of the pandemic has reduced the scope of work in most sectors, he does not expect any results from the new members of the government. could provide.

The president of the Business Club “Privrednik”, Zoran Drakulić, did not comment on the new solutions in the important ministries for the business world, but hopes that the new Minister of Economy will be more accessible to entrepreneurs.

– The most important thing for employers is to have communication, make suggestions, see if something can be improved in the measures to be adopted in the future, and I hope that the new Minister of Labor and Social Policy will continue to communicate with the workers. fight for the improvement of working conditions – says Drakulić and emphasizes that it is still too early for any comment.

The honorary president of the Union of Employers of Serbia, Nebojsa Atanackovic, also looks forward to further cooperation with the Ministry of Economy.

– They say that the new minister is a very capable woman, who “raised” “Petoletka”, I suppose it is a quality solution, although I would prefer a serious businessman from the private sector to be in that position. It is good that there is continuity in the Ministry of Finance, because we had a relatively good relationship with Mali in the Economic and Social Council with mutual respect. But, we do not know much about the Ministry of Labor, which is important to us, and which is one of the most difficult, most serious departments, where it is difficult to harmonize between the world of work and the world of capital, employers and unions, especially due to the pandemic. It is difficult to estimate how Kisić Tepavčević will manage in that field, but we are giving her and other new members a chance in the first 100 days of government, says Atanacković.

He considers that the election of Tomo Momirović as Minister of Transport, Construction and Infrastructure is a good step, because he comes from the private sector and expects a dose of independence from him. Remember that Momirović was one of the most active employers when it came to some general things, like raising the price of labor beyond GDP growth (which the new minister objected to).

The president of the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions, Ranka Savić, believes that too many new names will reduce the efficiency of the Government, because those members will need some time to get into the matter, enough to get closer to new elections.

– The general objection is that they boast that there are 50 percent women in government with a limited mandate, and in which for such a short time not even these women will be able to demonstrate their expertise and capacity. But, in our country, the government is not formed based on excessive skill, but on who is close to whom, loyal and willing to blindly do everything that is required. This is not appropriate at a time of great health and economic crisis – says Savić, adding that he is concerned that the new Labor Minister will need a long time to enter the field of labor relations, which is quite far from her profession, but still from she. He hopes to solve a major health problem in the “Jure” factories and give that employer a smarter attitude towards epidemiological protection of workers.

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