ZAGREB, July 5 (Hina) - Premier Ivica Racan on Friday morning tendered his resignation, bringing down the Croatian government at whose helm he was for two and a half years.
ZAGREB, July 5 (Hina) - Premier Ivica Racan on Friday morning
tendered his resignation, bringing down the Croatian government at
whose helm he was for two and a half years. #L#
At the beginning of its term of office in 2000, the government
consisted of six parties, and later, when the Istrian Democratic
Assembly (IDS) left it, of five: the Social Democrats (SDP), Social
Liberals (HSLS), Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), Liberal Party (LS),
and the Croatian People's Party (HNS).
During a closed-door session this morning Premier Racan informed
his ministers that he had signed his resignation. The resigned PM
called on them to continue discharging duly their duties until they
were formally relieved of their posts by the parliament.
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and the parliament's head, Zlatko
Tomcic, will be notified of Racan's resignation.
The resignation of the seventh Croatian PM and the fall of the
government ensued after a deep crisis which shook the ruling five-
party coalition when Drazen Budisa, First Deputy PM, and his Social
Democrats (HSLS) strongly opposed the decision of the government
and other coalition partners to ratify a Croatian-Slovene
agreement on the Krsko nuclear power plant.
According to the country's constitution, President Mesic will
appoint the new prime minister designate, and Racan is likely to be
again at that post, given that he leads the party which has the
largest number of parliamentary seats.
The constitution stipulates that the mandate for the establishment
of a new government should be entrusted to a person who enjoys the
confidence of a majority of MPs.
According to unofficial information, the task of establishing the
new government could be given to the PM designate at the beginning
of next week.
Immediately upon the set-up of the government and not later than 30
days after the acceptance of the mandate, the PM designate is
obliged to present the government's programme and his cabinet's
members to the parliament and ask for a vote of confidence.
The six previous premiers were Stjepan Mesic, Josip Manolic, Franjo
Greguric, Hrvoje Sarinic, Nikica Valentic, and Zlatko Matesa, all
of them Croatian Democratic Union members at the time.
(hina) ms sb