It's not bad if the manager of UKCS is my wife who has good connections; she will have my support

Guest of tonight's Dnevnik TV1 was the member of the Presidency of BiH and president of SDA Bakir Izetbegović. In an exclusive interview for TV1, he answered questions that have been shaking public life in BiH in recent days. The Patria News Agency transmits some parts of this interview.

TV1: What are the relations within the SBB - SDA coalition?

IZETBEGOVIĆ: The relations are good. We have a more than correct relationship with Mr. Radončić and the SBB. Why do I say more than correct? Because when we were starting the coalition, they offered a range of possibilities for us to choose whether we want their entry into the complete structure, whether we want Mr. Radončić in that structure, whether to reduce all of this only to the FBiH. Simply put, they left us the possibility, as the leading and most responsible party, to choose the form and quantity of cooperation with the SBB. Then, when appointing people, they really tried to find people who could best perform the functions. They did not insist on some party cadres, but together with us they searched for those, for example for the Minister of Energy at the federal level, which is a very important position, to find a person there who can do the job. 
I am very satisfied with their such attitude, of course with this problem in Kosovo which is somewhat poisoning the entire situation in BiH and not only in the coalition. 

TV1: The latest case, the arrest of Bakir Dautbašić, candidate for Minister of Transport and Communications of BiH, was seen by many as the end of the SDA - SBB coalition. How much did this affect relations within the coalition?

IZETBEGOVIĆ: Mr. Radončić very correctly states that nothing can jeopardize the coalition and that it will, at the very least, remain until 2018. I hope that will be the case, but I fear that at some point the burden of this pressure could lead to some emotional decisions, different decisions, and could affect the coalition and the situation in the country. But, if Mr. Radončić is ready to endure some things and some nerves, he will certainly have us in that we put everything else in the background, and finally put in the foreground what is needed for this country and this nation. That is, economic recovery, reforms, the return of BiH to the European and NATO path, moving in that direction at an accelerated pace, employing people, using the resources of this country, making reforms, making changes, progressing. 

TV1: Are you, in that sense, both you and Mr. Radončić, ready for major compromises for the sake of the coalition's survival?

IZETBEGOVIĆ: I think we made the main compromise, after such a conflict that we cannot now abstract and pretend it didn't happen, so we had entered, it was no longer rivalry, but severe animosity. If we were able to overcome that, swallow some things, I think we are able to overcome everything else that may await us on this path in the next three years. 

As far as I am concerned, I certainly am. I have proven it. I will always put that general interest before some personal one, some wounded pride, perhaps even a short-term party interest; I will put what is the long-term interest of this country and this people, and then both party and personal interest will be achieved through that.

Should the two hospitals in Sarajevo, i.e., the General Hospital "Prim. dr Abdulah Nakaš" and the KCUS, be merged?

IZETBEGOVIĆ: I don't know how to answer that off the top of my head. They will do the analysis and there is no need to rush. This should be done by expert teams, ministries. The heads of those ministries are not from SDA, so I hope we will get contributions from other coalition partners as well. We should do what, as with the canton, is in line with rationalization, simpler systems, cheaper systems. What that is, I wouldn't say off the top of my head. I haven't dealt with that problem enough. 

The opposition has again masterfully tied that matter to the appointment of my wife to the position of director of KCUS. I think people have again fallen for the story that this is being done so that she would be the director of two institutions. The merger will either happen or it won't; if it does, who knows when it will be.  I think they should have supported her appointment alone. Here's what it's about: she was director of the General Hospital "Prim. dr Abdulah Nakaš" for three years. In those three years, the service in that hospital improved. No one questions that. She is a manager, she knows how to inspire people, she knows how to motivate people, to bring out the best in them, to do good work. So, the service from how long a patient waits, the way they are received, how they are treated, how they are treated, how they are protected from various MRSA and the like. It is not at all unimportant that in those three years, about 700,000 people passed through the General Hospital. Three times as many pass through the Clinical Center, so millions of people annually. It is not unimportant how they will be treated. The Clinical Center has been brought to a debt of about 100 million KM.

The General Hospital, which she led, repaid some debts and came into positive territory.  Therefore, I think it is good for patients to have good managers, regardless of their last name. The fact that someone has the same last name as a member of the Presidency of BiH should not be a recommendation, and especially it should not be something that stops them from making their contribution. Perhaps even in the case of the Clinical Center, which has fallen into such debt, and which now needs all of us to help it get out, it is not bad for the manager to be someone who has good connections, who can dedicate themselves to that job. So, she is dedicated to the work, she is professional, she was director of the maternity hospital in Sarajevo, then a successful director of the General Hospital. She has good connections, she is dedicated. It is not some soft armchair; it is, so to speak, an electric chair that one must sit in. Now many people must be told that some privileges will cease, some corruptions that were there must be stopped, those huge debts must be repaid... Good luck to her, and she will have my support. I hope also the support of people who want good service for themselves.

TV1: There were many comments and analyses in the public. Did your political influence help in the appointment of your wife to the position of director of KCUS? 

IZETBEGOVIĆ: Believe it or not, I never once spoke with people at either the cantonal or federal level about it. She has her own status there. In the Council at the cantonal level, she leads the body dealing with health reform, so she represents healthcare. She has a career as it is. One hospital, a larger hospital, and now a third - KCUS. I never once spoke with anyone about it, but I also did not hinder that process. I didn't even tell her whether she should or shouldn't do it. I let those things take their course. I am somewhat surprised, given her success at the General Hospital and the fact that hundreds of thousands of people had the chance to receive good service, by the negative reaction of one part of the public and the silence of another part of the public.