Croatia's New Cabinet Draws Mixed Response

Croatian Prime Minister-designate Tihomir Oreskovic on Thursday presented the candidates for ministers in his future government, which will be voted in parliament on Friday.

Oreskovic presented the names of 20 ministers and two vice prime ministers, calling it "Tim's team", according to his own middle name.

Besides the expected vice prime ministers - Tomislav Karamarko, president of the strongest party in government, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, and Bozo Petrov, president of the Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST - the new line-up contains many new and little known persons.

Of the 20 ministers, six were proposed by MOST, while the rest are candidates from the HDZ's Patriotic Coalition.

MOST's candidate for justice minister is 36-year-old Ante Sprlje, a judge with only three years' working experience in the municipal court in Metkovic, the southern town where Petrov is the mayor.

Another little known MOST candidate is Vlaho Orepovic, 47-year-old war veteran and commander of the first naval unit in the town of Ploce in the Metkovic region.

In Ploce, he is well known for his commitment to a civil movement focused on stopping the project to build a thermal power plant in the town.

The candidate for the post of minister of social politics and youth, 52-year-old Bernardica Juretic, besides some experience in the private sector, spent much of her career working with drug addicts while she was a Catholic nun.

"This is a very good team, healthy and young; there are new names that you didn't expect. Basically, it's a very healthy mix in which team spirit is present," Oreskovic said when presenting the candidates. He will present the candidates to parliament using Power Point.

"This team is my team and I am very...