ZAGREB, Dec 8 (Hina) - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Ivo Sanader told reporters in Zagreb on Monday that his party had informed President Stjepan Mesic that it had a majority in the new parliament.
ZAGREB, Dec 8 (Hina) - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Ivo
Sanader told reporters in Zagreb on Monday that his party had
informed President Stjepan Mesic that it had a majority in the new
parliament. #L#
Asked when the president would give him a mandate to form a
government, Sanader said they would hear each other on the phone
this evening after the president completed consultations with
other parties.
He said they discussed the possibility of the parliament holding a
constituent session on December 22 and 23. "During the two days, we
will try not only to constitute a parliament, but also to form a
government, and the president agreed with it."
Sanader said he put forward a proposal for the reduction of the
number of ministries, because "we want a smaller and more effective
government that would be more a service to citizens than an unwieldy
apparatus."
Sanader said that the HDZ delegation and the president agreed that
the signatures of MPs were not recognised by the Constitution as an
instrument of support and that it would be enough if a majority of
deputies raised their hands for the new government.
"We want to form a new government as soon as possible," he said.
Asked to comment on a statement by his envoy, Florijan Boras, at the
unveiling of a monument to the first Croatian president Franjo
Tudjman in Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia-Herzegovina, who levelled serious
accusations at the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its leader
Ivica Racan, Sanader said that "if he was quoted correctly, it is
not the position or policy of the HDZ."
"It is probably a minor incident which we will rectify, and it is not
the kind of rhetoric that should be used," Sanader said.
Asked about the pressure from foreign embassies over the makeup of a
future government, Sanader said that no pressure had been exerted
by any embassy regarding the composition of the new government or
participation of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) in it, nor would
he have agreed to it.
"There was various speculation," Sanader said, adding that he had
held talks with HSP leader Anto Djapic a day or two after the
November 23 election and proposed that the two parties cooperate in
parliament rather than form a coalition government.
Sanader said that the makeup of the new government would be clear in
the coming days. He added that he would like to see Andrija Hebrang
in the new government and that Luka Bebic had asked to be freed from
any duty in the executive.
(hina) vm