"The gathering of all (six) will be difficult to imagine, but it is not even necessary. We want to fight for a platform, not against the party in power," Ivica Racan said after an SDP Main Committee session on Saturday.
He underlined that the SDP would run in the next elections to win as a party and that it was confident that the election results would enable it to cooperate in forming the government with the SDP's potential partners.
"Forming coalitions is not on the agenda today. It will be tomorrow, when elections come, but until then we can talk about cooperation," Racan said.
"We do not lay claim to anyone because the parties will be able to decide themselves what is in their interest."
Asked to comment on Prime Minister and ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Ivo Sanader's claims in the media today that the HDZ would form a strong coalition government after the elections, Racan said it was difficult to imagine an HDZ-led coalition.
"I can hardly imagine a coalition government founded on an autocratic and chancellor's system and general obedience of the government's members to one man. Those who agree to a coalition government under those conditions have to explain this to their constituents."
Racan said the HDZ already had "an alleged coalition government" today, but added that it was a minority government supported by a small number of parties "which the HDZ has won over with I don't know what... Those which (the HDZ) buys cannot retain their identity".
The SDP Main Committee today set up the SDP Council for War Veterans and the Homeland War with Brigadier Ante Kotromanovic at the helm.
Asked how this cooperation had come about, in the light of Kotromanovic's earlier criticisms of the SDP and the former SDP-led government, both Racan and Kotromanovic said those things were in the past, that every man was entitled to change his mind, and that their goal was to protect the dignity of war veterans and the 1991-95 war of independence.
Racan said Kotromanovic had served honorably in the war, that the SDP had not agreed with his opinions but that he changed them in the meantime, "coming into conflict with those who thought they could manipulate veterans and the Homeland War... That is when we decided to act together".
The SDP Main Committee also adopted the principles of the party's activity in the future as well as conclusions on the SDP's preparations for elections.