"There is no constitutional crisis. As long as a final decision has not been made, there is no constitutional crisis," Mesic said recalling that he sent Sanader a letter and a co-signed decision to relieve POA chief Josko Podbevsek of duty and that the PM could respond, but that there was no deadline within which he was bound to do it.
In a statement to reporters after a regular meeting with citizens in his office on Saturday, President Mesic expressed readiness to talk with Sanader to resolve the issue and stated that he had done what he had to do within his constitutional powers.
He said that the scandal was harmful for Croatia, but that it had also helped show what must not be done. Asked whether in the meantime he had talked with Sanader, Mesic said: "Only to the extent that was made possible by the television".
Asked whether Podbevsek had the legitimacy to remain at the helm of the POA, Mesic said that Podbevsek would remain at his post until the prime minister co-signed the decision on his dismissal.
Mesic said he did not know if intelligence services had investigated him.
Commenting on the interrogation of reporter Helena Puljiz by POA agents, Mesic repeated that the agency had overstepped its powers and violated the law.
He dismissed speculation that three months ago he and Sanader had agreed on launching an investigation against his former advisor Zeljko Bagic and former POA chief Franjo Turek. He said that Bagic had tendered his resignation of his own accord because he did not want to cause problems to the President's Office with his friendship with businessman Hrvoje Petrac, who is at large, and that Turek had resigned from his post after his work was criticised. Mesic said that he did not know what the two men were suspected of and that he had not been informed about it by Podbevsek either, although he met him two times recently.
"I don't know how some (PM Sanader) got to know about it, and I did not, although we have the same sources of information," Mesic said.
Asked whether PM Sanader was protecting persons violating the law by refusing to co-sign the decision on Podbevsek's dismissal, Mesic said that professional rules were clear and that Podbevsek's replacement was the only way to put an end to the affair.
Asked whether he was satisfied with Podbevsek's work, Mesic said that he was not happy about major personnel changes which took place after Podbevsek was appointed POA chief.
"I am generally not happy about the replacement of qualified professionals," he added.
The president said that he would give up his proposal to remove Podbevsek only if he received evidence that the agency had acted in line with professional rules.
Mesic concluded by saying that he did not know if the POA had joined in the presidential campaign, but that the involvement of police was evident since police chiefs could be seen sitting in the front row at party meetings.