‘Deserving Citizens’ Costing Croatia €1m May Get Chop

The Croatian government is set to take the knife to a list of Croatian ‘artists’ who currently receive around 1 million euro of the state budget. The list of 760 names is about to be slashed as belt-tightening measures continue, reports Globus…

The list of Croatians who receive monthly payments for their status as ‘deserving citizens’ include: 14 Scientists, 9 prominent educational and pedagogical workers, 86 writers, 14 composers, 33 sculptors, 97 painters, 21 artists, 30 “other cultural workers”, 85 drama artists, 38 opera performers, 90 ballet dancers, 127 musicians, 11 conductors, 26 directors, 15 actors and 33 people who receive money on behalf of a deceased ‘deserving citizen’.

Payments to each artist come in the form of 200, 300, 500 or 700 kuna (25-90 euros) monthly payments. Some names on the current list include singers Mate Mišo Kovač and Tereza Kesovija.