Federation president Zivko Budimir on Friday fired finance minister Ante Krajina, ostensibly over the ministry’s failure to pay pensions to Croat war veterans. President Budimir also asked Prime Minister Nermin Niksic to resign so the entire government can be reshuffled. That request, along with the timing of Krajina’s sacking, have led Niksic and others to criticize Budimir’s move as being politically motivated. Mr. Niksic had asked Budimir to remove a number of ministers, including Krajina, more than a year ago, but the president refused.
Prime Minister Niksic went so far as to accuse President Budimir of “blackmail” over Krajina’s dismissal.
“For some time now, Budimir has been blackmailing some ministers from the government… threatening he would dismiss them if they do not accept his demands and dictates, all based on my request to dismiss eight ministers [in 2012] which he refused at the time, stopping the reconstruction of the government,” Niksic said in a written statement.
Adding to the controversy is the fact that Minister Krajina is a Croat, and his dismissal means that the FBiH government no longer has the legally mandated balance of ethnic groups. Federation vice president Mirsad Kebo has said that the dismissal jeopardizes the vital national interests of Croats.
“The FBiH government cannot work without the constitutionally determined number of ministers from the Croat people. That would lead to serious political consequences. All relevant political interests and political forces in the Federation must be respected,” said Kebo, recalling that without his signature no proposal can appear before the FBiH Parliament.
The High Representative also weighed in on the situation, saying in a statement released today that Krajina’s firing is “legally questionable.”
President Budimir previously already decided, on 17 December 2012, not to accept Prime Minister Niksic’s proposal for the dismissal of eight Ministers in the Federation government, including the request to remove Finance Minister Krajina. In addition, the reasons given publicly by President Budimir for his decision to dismiss Finance Minister Krajina are different from the reasons stated in Prime Minister Niksic’s proposal of December 2012.
Under existing legislation, the FBiH Finance Minister has an irreplaceable role in the realization of budget payment transactions in the FBiH, including those to the most vulnerable population and to creditors. These and other functions that the FBiH Finance Minister carries out in an ex officio capacity clearly make the post of FBiH Finance Minister essential for the fiscal stability and functioning not only of the FBiH but also of BiH as a whole.
