Tomcic stressed that Croatia should make the necessary preparations for membership of the European Union because "the EU is a beautiful dream only for those prepared and a nightmare for those unprepared".
Citing advantages of EU membership, Tomcic said that one of the reasons why Croatia should join the bloc was that it was unable to deal with crime and corruption and parallel systems of power.
He sharply criticised the government's economic policy and its failure to propose concrete ways of overcoming the present crisis. As a result, unemployment and the foreign debt are on the rise and living standards are on the decline, he added.
Tomcic devoted a large part of his 45-minute speech to local elections, which are due to take place in mid-May. He said that his party would not only strive to remain in power in eight counties and more than 120 towns and municipalities, but also to come to power in other constituencies.
The HSS will run in the local elections in a coalition with the strongest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The party today adopted an Election Declaration and a new Statute.