HSS PRESIDENCY MEETS TO FORMULATE STAND ON COALITION CRISIS

ZAGREB, March 4 (Hina) - The presidency of the ruling coalition's Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) meets this afternoon to formulate the party's position on the latest developments in the coalition. According to unofficial sources, the presidency will take a stand on HSS president Zlatko Tomcic's opinion that the preservation of the coalition and the incumbent government is the HSS' primary task, that the implementation of the government's reforms must continue, and that advocating early elections in the current state of affairs would be irresponsible. Early elections are only one of the possibilities which have been mentioned to overcome the coalition's crisis. After all six HSLS (Social Liberals) government ministers tendered their resignations and the leaders of the coalition's parties failed to reach an agreement as to future cooperation last week, all possibilities have been mentioned to overcome the crisis, from the formation of a minority government whose survival would depend on a division of the HSLS parliamentary bench, to HSLS' exit out of the government and the calling of early elections. This is why today's HSS presidency meeting is highly anticipated given estimates that the way out of the crisis depends on the stand Tomcic and the HSS will take, according to sources at parliament. Following last Friday's coalition leaders' meeting, sources close to the HSS said Tomcic and his party did not wish to take part in breaking up the Social Liberals and were not willing to unreservedly support a government which would survive with a divided HSLS parliamentary bench. The crisis of the government and the coalition culminated in the middle of last week when the HSLS Executive Council urged the resignation of three of its government ministers. As a sign of solidarity with their colleagues, the other three Social Liberal ministers tendered their resignations as well. (hina) ha