PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GRANIC VISITS EASTERN CROATIA

VUKOVAR, Jan 15 (Hina) - The presidential candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union, Mate Granic, on Saturday visited eastern Croatia, where he held pre-electoral rallies in Slavonski Brod and Vukovar. Granic told the gathered in Vukovar he was sure he would win the presidential election called for January 24, saying his certainty was based on his own vision of and programme for Croatia in the new millennium. During the Homeland War a decade ago, Vukovar "enabled Croatia to consolidate and stop the Serb aggression," Granic said, adding this eternally bound Croatia to the eastern-most town. In recent years, he admitted, "there was arrogance, triumphalism, and we closed our eyes in front of some evident problems." He promised that if elected Croatia's new president, he would focus on "fighting for the rule-of-law and its functioning (which implies) investigating and shedding light on all corruption scandals." Granic said he would pay special attention to Homeland War veterans and the young, "who are Croatia's future and in whom it is better to invest than in the rehabilitation of failed banks." He advocated a healthy economy which he said can best be achieved through "additional foreign investments." "After having a charismatic president of the republic, a new time has come which requires that Croatia have a president close to the people and who will listen to what the people says," Granic said. He advocated parliamentary democracy with "original presidential powers." (hina) ha