HNS, LS, IDS: WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN CLOSE TO GOVT., UNLIKE HSLS

ZAGREB, Oct 24 (Hina) - Three of the ruling coalition's six parties on Tuesday refuted a claim by HSLS president Drazen Budisa that they were waging an opposition policy towards the joint government. Budisa, the president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party, the second strongest in the ruling coalition, among else told today's Vecernji list daily it would be normal for the government's radical critics, whom he did not name, to step down. Nobody should be afraid of IDS (Istrian Democratic Assembly), LS (Liberal Party) and HNS (Croatian People's Party), said IDS vice president Damir Kajin, adding that unlike HSLS, they had always been constructive. According to LS acting president Zlatko Kramaric, Budisa's statements are indicative of a deep incomprehension of the parliament-government relationship. "It is by pointing to certain issues that we are demonstrating authenticity before the voters," he said. HNS president Vesna Pusic, too, dismissed Budisa's claim that HNS, IDS, and LS were the opposition within the ruling coalition. She said this claim had been running for some time now and was similar to Budisa's attempts to blame others for what he himself was doing. "The only (party) which can cause a crisis within the coalition is HSLS since it has the sufficient number of deputies," she said. HNS, LS, and IDS have eight deputies in parliament's House of Representatives. (hina) ha jn