UNION LEADER: GOVT HAS FALLEN SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS

RIJEKA, Jan 24 (Hina) - The government has fallen short of expectations and is dealing more with internal conflicts and the struggle for positions than with overcoming obstacles; the pre- electoral promises of the ruling coalition are being forgotten and the general disappointment is mounting, a Croatian union leader told reporters on Wednesday. Addressing reporters at a news conference in Rijeka, the head of the Association of Workers Trade Unions of Croatia (URSH), Boris Kunst, said the government's major failures included an uncontrolled growth of bankruptcies, which have left some 30,000 workers jobless, a non-transparent economic strategy and foreign indebtedness. The government has not resolved the most important economic problems - the rift between the real and fiscal part of the economy and the poor level of preparedness for admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with internal illiquidity being bridged over by increasing the deficit in public funds and numerous bankruptcies, Kunst said. The union leader blames the government for avoiding social dialogue and claims unions have become the only corrective factor in relation to the government as, he believes, the political opposition does not exist any more. (hina) rml