The head of the prime minister's office said on Tuesday he was sorry for participating in a "misunderstanding" with the members of the government's Scientific Council who signed a Covid appeal, adding that the prime minister did not fire them and that it was necessary to find a way to overcome this.

“I said that I took part in this misunderstanding, that I thanked them for their cooperation and that I thought it was not fair (to sign the appeal) and that it was not conducive to further cooperation, but today I believe we must find a way to continue to cooperate,” Zvonimir Frka-Petesic told the press.

In the appeal, 26 prominent doctors and scientists expressed their concern about the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 in Croatia and the high number of deaths.

Frka-Petesic said he did not know when the council would meet next. “The date of the next meeting hasn’t been defined. This is a new moment. I can’t answer that question for now.”

He said the prime minister did not relieve the five members of their duties, but added that cooperation in these conditions was difficult.

“I’m sorry about this. Perhaps I wasn’t clear in my communication. Perhaps I made them believe that the prime minister had relieved them of their duties. I just said that I didn’t think that this cooperation could go on if there was no mutual trust.”

He said the members of the Scientific Council were encouraged to speak in public and to the media, but that it was one thing to speak to the media and another to call out the government as a member of its council.

Recently, the disagreements between the scientists have turned into ones calling out others and requesting that some members be expelled from the council, which was unacceptable for the government, said Frka-Petesic.

At the last council meeting on Saturday, not once was it mentioned that an appeal had been initiated, he said, adding that the appeal caught him by surprise and that he felt tricked when he saw it.

“For me, that undermined our trust a lot. I said so to the prime minister, that I felt tricked, that I was very disappointed and that further cooperation was pointless if there was no mutual trust,” he said, adding that after the appeal he called every member of the Scientific Council and spoke with some.

“We care about cooperation with excellent experts,” Frka-Petesic said, but added that all must find a way to cooperate better given the different viewpoints.

When there is no agreement, that should not result in “excessive mutual targeting” because public calling out damages the government, he said.

The Scientific Council was established as an advisory body whose advice does not oblige the government, which bases its decisions on recommendations from the national Covid-19 response team and must assume the responsibility for the decisions which it believes are best for citizens at a given moment, sad Frka-Petesic.

“Had we listened to some, today we would have been in a hard lockdown, had we listened to others, we would have had totally relaxed measures, had we listened to entrepreneurs, there would have been no measures. The government should listen to the advice of the response team which proposes and the government makes a decision. End of story.”

“Neither the prime minister nor the government members nor I should arbitrate and say which council member is or isn’t right, but hear their opinions, without anyone being banished for it,” Frka-Petesic said.