The proposal to cut ministries in the Croatian cabinet was floated earlier this week by Administration Minister Lovro Kuščević.

“Croatia could be more rational in managing its resources, including the number of ministries,” Kuščević remarked to reporters after a government session.

According to Jutarnji List daily, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is keen on the idea, although it is not a top priority at the moment.
Junior coalition partners in Plenković’s centre-right government are demanding a reconstruction of the cabinet in late 2018, around the time the government will have been two years in power, Jutarnji List reported on Friday.

Unnamed officials from parties in the ruling coalition told Jutarnji List that PM Plenković would initiate discussions on several government departments.

According to speculations, ministries of health and social policy might merge, while tourism ministry could be transformed and downgraded into a directorate attached to the economy ministry. Other ideas include merging the construction ministry with either that of the economy or the environment, or even the justice ministry – for merging the cadastral and land registries which are managed by these two departments.

The ideal number of ministries in the cabinet would be around 15. Croatia currently has 20 ministries, which makes it the largest cabinet in the European Union.