The Science Journalists section of the Croatian Journalists’ Association has directed ten questions about the science system and science policy to all political parties in Croatia. All answers received before the start of the pre-election silence will be published on the Croatian Journalists’ Association website in the order they arrive.
“We hope that our political parties will take advantage of this opportunity to present their views on the issues in the science system and inform the wider public about the solutions they plan to offer after winning the elections,” stated the Science Journalists section of the Croatian Journalists’ Association. The questions are as follows:
1) When you come into power, whom would your party nominate for the Minister of Science and Education? Additionally, regardless of their party affiliation or lack thereof, who would you like to see at the helm of that ministry?
2) Do you know what percentage of Croatia’s GDP is allocated to science and research in Croatia and where we stand in the EU in this regard? Do you plan to increase that percentage after winning the elections?
3) How do you assess the importance of basic sciences compared to applied sciences, and how will you establish the funding ratio between these two categories when you become part of the executive branch?
4) What are the two pressing issues in the Croatian science system that you see, and what will your party do as part of the ruling coalition after the elections to address them?
5) What measures will you take as part of the government to stop the brain drain of young and highly educated professionals abroad, with an emphasis on individuals who are already part of the science and higher education system?
6) Why have only a few projects in our country received support from the prestigious ERC fund, reserved only for the most promising scientific projects in the EU, while some scientific institutions in our immediate neighborhood have multiples more?
7) Do you agree that one of the major social problems in our country and the world is the decline in public trust in science and the rise of pseudoscience? If yes, how will your party in the Government direct state policy towards solving this major problem?
8) What measures will you take to ensure the promotion of the transfer of new technologies from the science system to the economy? Do you think that separating the science sector from the Ministry of Science and Education and forming an independent Ministry of Science and Technology could help in this regard?
9) How will you, within the ruling coalition, utilize the potential expertise, competencies, and experiences possessed by employees in the science and higher education system in improving legislation, introducing new regulations, and generally making correct decisions based on facts and science?
10) Do you advocate for an increase in the share of the Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) program dedicated to science, considering that such programs are diminishing year by year, and will you introduce such an obligation into the Law on HRT?