Ružić set to join government as labor minister, pending parliamentary approval

Alen Ružić is expected to join Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s cabinet next week as the new Minister of Labour, the Pension System, Family and Social Policy, pending confirmation by Parliament.

Ružić, the current administrator of Rijeka’s Clinical Hospital Centre, will replace Marin Piletić, who is stepping down to serve as a member of Parliament. Prime Minister Plenković said he expects the transition to take place next week and thanked Piletić for his service.

“Earlier this week, we agreed that Mr. Piletić will continue to serve in the Sabor. I want to thank him for his efforts and achievements in this very large and demanding part of the government, which has the biggest budget of any ministry — more than 13 billion euros. I believe we made significant progress together, and I hope this work will continue under Alen Ružić, whom we have put forward as our candidate for the new minister,” the prime minister said.

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, Piletić acknowledged that the past four years had been challenging, but pointed to a number of positive achievements.

He has faced criticism over delays in processing claims for an inclusion benefit intended to assist terminally ill patients, many of whom died before receiving the support they were entitled to. Piletić rejected the criticism, saying that never before have so many people with disabilities had access to such a broad support system.

“I believe I did everything I could to further strengthen these rights — the disability inclusion supplement and the personal assistance benefit. Continuing this work will require someone fresh and energetic,” Piletić said.