Press Conference

Thursday, 15 December 2005

Issue:
The third birthday of G17 PLUS

Speakers:
Miroljub Labus, G17 PLUS President
Mlađan Dinkić, G17 PLUS Vice-president
Predrag Marković, G17 PLUS Vice-president

Miroljub Labus:

      "Three years is short in comparison to the duration of a party’s existence. However, us who have gone through these three years, know that it was an extremely meaningful and not so easy", said president Miroljub Labus today on the press conference organized on the occasion of the third anniversary of the G17 PLUS party.
      "Just to remind you, the first year was the year of the opposition. People were telling us "hold on, don’t establish a party right now, wait for the elections, and then nobody will attack you any more. We said - no. It was then that we decided that the experts from the NGO G17 should be transferred to the political party. We decided to found a party without any calculations", said Labus and reminded that it was a year of hard work in the opposition.
      "The second year was also very hard for us, but it was a year in the Government. There were great dilemmas, and after the elections, it was hard to form the Government", said president of G17 PLUS, and added that there were heavy disputes about whether G17 PLUS should enter the Government or not. "The country needed a Government, and we entered it. That Government was not quite united on numerous matters. And it took us one year to attune our policies, and to become synchronized with our coalition partners", Labus pointed out.
      "The third year is a year of good results. G17 PLUS has shown that it follows a long-term policy, and that the most important thing for us is to have good results and to help the citizens of Serbia", said Miroljub Labus.
      Labus highlighted that a year ago there was a great dilemma about the cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, and that Serbia did not have a positive Feasibility Study. However, today we are negotiating with European Union. "I am sure that in a few months we will successfully conclude these negotiations", said Labus. He added that he highly appreciates the fact that vice-president and Minister of Finance Mlađan Dinkić has a successful cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. "Everyone doubted that it can be finished, but it was. The Paris Club has approved a 3 billion debt cancellation to our country. The Government has secured regular pension payments, every first and fifteenth day of the month, as well as home loans and farm credits. For the first time there are scholarships for the best students", said Labus, and pointed out that the previous governments supported the bad, and that this Government supports the young and the successful.
      "The The Parliament of Serbia, whose chairman is Predrag Marković, has adopted more than 200 laws, which is the best result in the recent history of parliamentary system", said Labus. He pointed out that it does not mean that it has always been easy in the Parliament, and that the MP’s do not always behave as they are expected to, but that the Parliament has been doing its job. Therefore, we can say with pride that the reforms continue, and that it will secure further negotiations with the European Union. "I congratulate our MP’s on being able to remain normal people in these conditions in the past two years."
      Speaking about the results of the work of the Ministry of agriculture, Labus said that after two years it is clear that for the first time the state offers support to the rural population and agricultural producers to create a new system which is completely in accordance with the system in the EU.
      "System Laws are finally being passed concerning the Health Service. Health Service has been stabilized, but of course, there are still a lot of things to be done", said Labus concerning the work of the Ministry of Health, whose Minister is the member of the Presidency of G17 PLUS, Tomica Milosavljević.
      "Hence, this is a year of positive results, and a year we can be proud of. The next year will be hard and crucial. Members of G17 PLUS are not afraid of that. If we have to make tough decisions, it is better to make them as soon as possible, than to delay them", said Labus, and pointed out that G17 PLUS is ready to bear its share of responsibility. "We invite everyone to take their share of responsibility, and to help as much as they can, and if they cannot do that, the least we expect from them is not to be in the way", said the president of G17 PLUS.
      "The next year will be crucial, but I also believe it will be significant by the fact that we will definitely finish the process of rebuilding Serbia, and for the first time have an agreement with the EU", said Labus, and wished a happy birthday to all the members of G17 PLUS.
      "Today we have more members than a year ago. I won’t say we kept them all, ‘because some of them are gone, but much more has joined us. Today we have 45 thousand registered members. We started three years ago with 5 thousand, and today we have 45 thousand. Our objective is to have 1% of the voting body in two years’ time, which means 20 thousand new members", said the president of G17 PLUS, and added that it will be a compact core of the party made up of the people who believe in the ideals of G17 PLUS, and support the party, not for their own interest, but for all the good things that G17 PLUS is doing for our country.

Mlađan Dinkić:

      "Miroljub Labus is the one we should thank for securing an excellent coordination between the economic ministries in the Serbian Government, as well as for the excellent work of the Office for joining European Union and the Agency for the promotion of export, whose work he supervises", said the vice-president of G17 PLUS Mlađan Dinkić.
      "Predrag Marković has been the most efficient Chairman in the last couple of decades. Thanks to the great number of adopted laws, we have got commendation and flattery marks both from the World Bank and from EBRD, and we have been proclaimed leaders in reforms," said Dinkić, and pointed out that our country is a leader in reforms not for the things said, but for the things done.
      "New laws have given the basis for further build-up. The Ministers from G17 PLUS have always grappled with difficult tasks, and I am sure that in these two years we have represented a cornerstone of the Government", said Mlađan Dinkić, and pointed out that in the first two years of the work, the Government has reached all the objectives which were the reason for G17 PLUS to enter it. "One of our objectives was to start a serious process of negotiations on joining EU, and we did it. Another objective was to obtain $700 million debt cancellation from the Paris Club for this country, and to complete the three-year arrangement with MMF which will happen in a month. Furthermore, our aim was to create a much better business climate in Serbia, and to attract more investments into the country, so as to secure stable and high economic growth, which was also achieved. Moreover, our goal was to secure home loans for the young, farm credits for the progressive farmers, and to create a fund for the young, whom we will support", said Dinkić. He added that the only pre-election promise left, about the decrease of wage tax, will be kept next year.
      Thanks to the people from G17 PLUS we have serious investments, not only in the sphere of economy, but also in sports, culture, and health care. We have a significant reform thanks to Mr Milosavljević, and we rely on Mrs Dulić in the negotiations with the EU, since 50% of the negotiations with the EU concern agriculture", said the vice-president of G17 PLUS. He added that lately the party has shown that it is strong and steady, since it has sustained the assaults of all those whose private interests it jeopardized, in order to protect national interests through its programme.
      "We have shown that nobody can hide behind the party, and that we are ready to admit our own mistakes and get even with the individuals among ourselves. We have entered the party because we were lead by the idea. We are different people, we have different ideas, but we were governed by the same idea to leave something behind ourselves, and to let our deeds speak even when we stop dealing with politics", said Dinkić, and added that, unfortunately, among those who joined the party there were also some people who put their private interest first.
      "You cannot recognize such people until you see how they work, and you can never completely wipe them all out of the party, since parties are based on certain interests, but it is highly important that the key of the party programme follows national interests", said Mlađan Dinkić, and stressed that G17 PLUS will do its best to enable only those people who are governed by national interests to get the chance to lead municipal, regional and provincial councils.
      "We will continue to go ahead in the future, without unfavourable compromises and bravely, regardless of the assaults. If you take a look at the press releases, the most negative texts in the past year were written on the account of G17 PLUS. It’s not because of journalists, but because of the people whose applecart we upset, in a certain way, people who didn’t use to pay the taxes, those who wanted to stay privileged, and grow rich at the expense of our people. They do not hesitate to use their money and influence to assault the brave ones. However, you have seen, the more they assaulted us the tougher we became, and it has now turned in favour of our rating. The rating of our party is growing. I am convinced that no matter how hard some people try to eliminate G17 PLUS from the political scene, we will be stronger and we’ll again succeed in becoming indispensable in making key decisions of national interest, after the next elections", said the vice-president of G17 PLUS Mlađan Dinkić.

Predrag Marković:

      "Sometimes it is good to believe in some things that people pay no attention to, and that’s the significance of time. Do you know why people invented a calendar? In order to have a framework, in order to make life meaningful.
      "Robinson Crusoe found himself in a difficult position on a deserted island. There was no civilization, except in his memory, in his idea of civilization. He was in chaos until he realised he didn’t know the date. Luckily, he realised in time, no matter how long it was after the shipwreck. He carved the day-marks onto a tree, and began keeping a calendar. It enabled him to find orientation in time and space, to find his way back to civilization, to become a symbol of the civilization of those who seek adventure, sometimes recklessly, believing that it is just their job of a mariner.
      "Back then, they used to say: one must live, one must sail. But then appeared an obligation to preserve civilization values, and for that purpose one needs help from everyone. If you can recall, Robinson needed the help of a savage.
      "Today we have a calendar. We have the first three years. We came from state institutions, where we work with many people. Nobody can do anything on his own. We have come to greet those who respect the calendar, and we expect that we are all here for that purpose. There is a calendar behind these candles. We all know what has to be done in January, February, March, and if you don’t do that, you are out of the civilization. It’s not Man Friday who will come, but his friends. His friends are cannibals.
      "It is not bad to believe in the calendar. I would especially like to congratulate everybody who has faith in reason, and in the calendar. I congratulate all of you who are ready to get united so as to create civilization, until everything you do enables you to become a part of the civilization in which you used to be, and then you will no longer be a lost mariner, but a respected character from literature. Of course, not all the heroes find a happy ending.

G17 PLUS PR Office