ZAGREB, Jan 7 (Hina) - The victory of the Opposition in parliamentary elections in Croatia brought a victory to my ideas, Stipe Mesic, a candidate for a coalition of four opposition parties for the upcoming presidential poll in
Croatia, told reporters Friday. My vision is victorious, I advocate European integration processes, because Croatia must, as all Europe, quickly move to joining, not isolation, Mesic said. Mesic is a candidate of the coalition of the Croatian People's Party (HNS), Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Liberal Party (LS) and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) for January 24 presidential elections. Mesic said presidential elections were not elections in which political parties will run, but people who must guarantee that what parties had pledged would be realised. He expressed hope he would enter the second round of elections. The authority of the President must be reduced, and his authority w
ZAGREB, Jan 7 (Hina) - The victory of the Opposition in
parliamentary elections in Croatia brought a victory to my ideas,
Stipe Mesic, a candidate for a coalition of four opposition parties
for the upcoming presidential poll in Croatia, told reporters
Friday.
My vision is victorious, I advocate European integration
processes, because Croatia must, as all Europe, quickly move to
joining, not isolation, Mesic said.
Mesic is a candidate of the coalition of the Croatian People's Party
(HNS), Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Liberal Party (LS) and the
Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) for January 24 presidential
elections.
Mesic said presidential elections were not elections in which
political parties will run, but people who must guarantee that what
parties had pledged would be realised. He expressed hope he would
enter the second round of elections.
The authority of the President must be reduced, and his authority
will be decided on by the Croatian National Parliament with
amendments to the Constitution, he said, stressing he advocated a
parliamentary democracy and the functioning of the three branches
of authority.
The president of a country must be a symbol, he must tip the scales
in situations of crisis and must be a guarantor of the functioning
of the three branches of authority in Croatia, Mesic said.
He said he offered correct, gentlemanly relations towards all
presidential candidates.
speaking about his political career hitherto, Mesic said he had
left the HDZ when the Croatian political boat began to sail the
wrong way, adding one of HDZ's biggest mistakes was its policy
towards Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Bosnia-Herzegovina should become a democratic country in which the
Croat people would be sovereign and equal to the two other
constitutive peoples.
"It is not important on which sides of the border Croats are if this
border will connect everybody in the European house," Mesic said.
He advocated the continuation of cooperation with the
International, Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, as
Croatia had signed. Everybody who had committed a crime must answer
for it, Mesic stressed.
(hina) lml