President of the Republic did not request refurbishment of residence on Hvar, but he is requesting an investigation into what Banožić, as Minister of State Property, spent so much money on
Plenković’s school repeater and proven harasser of Croatian officers and soldiers Mario Banožić has called on the President of the Republic last night to comment, in his words, “on the refurbishment and investments in the state residence on Hvar, which amounted to several hundred thousand kunas.” It is good that he again reminded all of us that he was also the (unsuccessful) Minister of State Property before he was tapped for the post of Minister of Defence at a hunting gathering in Spačva forest. Moreover, in his unintelligent text, he inadvertently revealed exactly what the Office of the President of the Republic is now very interested in: who requested it, who completed it and how much did the refurbishment and investments in the state residence on Hvar cost?
The President of the Republic neither requested nor was aware of any “refurbishment and investments” that were apparently completed earlier by State Property LLC, a company directly controlled by Banožić as the then Minister of State Property. And that is why his mentioning of “several hundred thousand kunas” cannot be taken lightly. He must give accurate information – especially because no “refurbishment and investments” that would justify this amount are evident in this particular state residence. Unless they include a coffee machine worth probably 2000 euros and some decorative details that are borderline kitsch which, by the way, are removed when the President of the Republic is staying there.
The only correspondence from the Office of the President of the Republic in regard to the residence on Hvar was a letter addressed in late July 2020 to the head of Plenković’s office Zvonimir Frka Petešić, informing him that the President of the Republic would be staying at the facility in early August.
If “several hundred thousand kunas” were indeed invested there, then the President of the Republic is requesting an investigation into what so much money was spent on. Being aware of Banožić’s tendency to grab things that do not belong to him and his proven willingness to engage in favouritism when it comes to real estate dealings, we can rightfully suspect that during the aforementioned “refurbishment” there was wrongdoing by State Property LLC under his control. Since the President of the Republic did not ask for any work to be performed in the state residence, we are left wondering whether the unfortunate school repeater might have wanted to win the President’s favour by equipping the residence on his own initiative with decorative pillows?
Everyone knows that the minister personally bought decorations and pillows for a state-owned apartment that he obtained for his use in breach of the rules, but Banožić obviously does not know that the President of the Republic does not share his sense of distaste. Had they not been bought with state money, we would have instructed Banožić to go ahead and ship those decorations to the hunting lodge from which he was launched to a post that does not suit him in any way. Because, it is in the last row – for the repeaters – where he belongs.
Finally, we remind Minister Banožić that in his foolish writings he did not answer this: when will he stop harassing the Croatian Army leaders and Croatian soldiers, when will he pay the soldiers their legally earned allowances and when will he publish the minutes of the Defence Inspectorate showing that he is a notorious liar who neither recognizes nor abides by the law?