LOWER HOUSE CONTINUES DEBATE ON CHILD ALLOWANCE ON THURSDAY

ZAGREB, April 12 (Hina) - The Croatian National Sabor's House of Representatives will continue its debate on the postponement of a law on child allowance on Thursday. At its last session, the lower house adopted an amendment postponing the application of the law, which was adopted by the old parliament composition, until next year, but the House of Counties vetoed the decision and returned the amendment to the House of Representatives for reconsideration. Today's parliamentary session on the amendment was broken off after 6pm. Corridors is that the session was postponed for tomorrow because the ruling coalition did not have the necessary number of representatives to override the veto. The government sticks by the explanation that the payment of child allowances for the children of unemployed persons, craftsmen, and farmers must be postponed until January 1 next year due to a lack of funds and technical conditions. The government run by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is responsible for the postponement of the law because it did not prepare it well, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Davorko Vidovic said at the Sabor today. In a discussion that ensued, representatives of the former and current authority exchanges insults. Milanka Opacic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said HDZ deputies were behaving like ostriches, "burying their heads in the sand", whereas HDZ's Vladimir Seks retorted that SDP deputies were like "geese running around in the fog." The SDP bench supported the Government unconditionally. Other party benches (HDZ, HNS/LS, IDS, HSS, HSLS) suggested that child allowances be paid after the budgetary revision, until October 1. The Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) bench warned that it would initiate the procedure for a vote of no confidence in Minister Vidovic if the payment of child allowances did not start after July 1. (hina) jn rml