HDZ PRESIDENT SAYS PARTY READY TO COME TO POWER

ZAGREB, June 21 (Hina) - Having spent three years in the opposition, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is again ready to win parliamentary elections, HDZ president Ivo Sanader said on Saturday, addressing participants in the party's Eighth General Assembly in Zagreb. #L# "We are proud of the fact that the HDZ, with Franjo Tudjman at the helm, achieved great goals," Sanader said. He recalled the last parliamentary election on January 3, 2000, when his party went into opposition after ten years in power. "The HDZ has used the time spent in opposition well and is prepared to confront political rivals and return to power at the next parliamentary elections," he said. The HDZ General Assembly, which has gathered some 5,500 envoys, is also attended by numerous guests -- representatives of Croatian political parties, European parties of popular and democratic Christian orientation, the diplomatic corps, trade unions, the Croatian Employers' Association, Homeland War associations, religious communities, as well as public and cultural institutions. (hina) lml sb