SANADER ADDRESSES HDZ ELECTION RALLY IN SIBENIK

SIBENIK, April 15 (Hina) - Addressing a Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) rally in the southern city of Sibenik ahead of early local elections on Sunday, party leader and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader called on constituents on Thursday to replace the "incompetent authorities in Sibenik as they did the incompetent authorities in Croatia".#L# Sanader said the HDZ had already started downsizing the administrative apparatus in the country, which he added should be modernised and at the citizen's service all the time. "We will eradicate bribery and corruption and transform Croatia into a normal country which will make Croatian emigrants wish to come back and in which citizens who opt for launching a business will encounter the state's understanding and support." Sanader said his government was working on the establishment of 400 business zones throughout the country, and added that a draft law on small and medium-sized enterprise would soon be made public. Speaking about Croatia's external debt, which has exceeded US24 billion, Sanader said the previous, Ivica Racan Cabinet, was responsible for it. "We have a solution for this difficult problem too," he said. Sanader dismissed the possibility of any coalition with Racan's Social Democratic Party, which he said was full of orthodox communists. (Hina) ha