CROATIAN PEASANT PARTY PRESENTS PLATFORM

KARLOVAC, Oct 19 (Hina) - Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) president Zlatko Tomcic reiterated on Sunday the HSS would run for parliament independently, and that negotiations on post-election coalitions were possible after the ballot's results were made public. #L# "There will be no pre-election coalitions because the HSS first wants to see possible partners' platforms on economic, social, demographic and pro-European issues, as well as on regional policy," he said at a rally in Karlovac. He outlined five new areas of the HSS platform -- economic development at a growth rate of eight or nine percent, eliminating red tape in state administration and the judiciary, knowledge as the foundation of development, and a responsible national, social, and demographic policy. Tomcic said the fifth area -- admission into the European Union -- would make sense only when the previous goals had been achieved. He went on to say that Croatia does not have a developed parliamentary democracy because parliament, as the supreme legislative body, is neglected. He announced a battle to have the powers of the president of the republic, the prime minister, and the president of parliament equated. "Parliament must in the position to be able to control the government. Only then do we have a parliamentary democracy." (hina) ha