HDZ WISHES PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS TO BE HELD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

ZAGREB, Nov 26 (Hina) - The Croatian public, although concerned about the health of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, can be certain that the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), as a serious party, is aware of its responsibilities and will not do anything that would lead to instability, HDZ vice-president Ivic Pasalic told Friday's news conference. He stressed the HDZ would endeavour to ensure stability of the Croatian society and state and prepare democratic elections at which Croatian voters will have the last word. The HDZ will advocate that elections for the Parliament House of Counties be held as soon as possible, because Croatia needs stability and legitimacy of a new Lower House mandate, and the Government which would be yielded will be an expression of will of Croatian voters, Pasalic said. He called on leaders of Opposition parties to have political tolerance and argumented confronting, stressing it was the HDZ's standpoint that any "animosity" would push Croatia into political instability and render it remote from a stable and democratic state and its accession into European integration processes to which the HDZ wishes to contribute fully. Asked about the date of the elections, Pasalic said the HDZ leadership would make a final decision on the issue, and that, despite the unsatisfactory negotiations with the Opposition hitherto, they would accept the HDZ's opinion. Pasalic confirmed that the HDZ National Council would hold a session within two to three days. The National Council comprises the Presidency, the main and head committees, and coordinates key party activities, but has no authority to make concrete decisions. The session of the HDZ Head Committee will convene after the date of elections becomes known, Pasalic said. Asked in what measure Vlatko Pavletic, having taken over temporarily the duties of the President of the Republic, would be independent in decision-making, Pasalic said he believed the Parliament president would, as an old close President's assistant, would know how to level-headedly and to the benefit of Croatia successfully perform the duties of the President of the Republic during his temporary disability to do so himself. Speaking about the HDZ's electoral preparations, Pasalic stressed that party committees were working regularly and almost 80 per cent of the work surrounding the drawing up of electoral lists has been completed. He added consultations and preparations were underway for establishing the final lists of candidates and their order. If elections are scheduled soon, party lists will be issued within several days, Pasalic said. Pasalic dismissed the idea that the party was thinking about a possible future presidential candidate, stressing that the President of the Republic was still alive, and, although in a difficult state of health, he still held all party and state authorities, and this would be utterly inappropriate. Decisions which we, as the HDZ leadership, made and suggestions which we, as a parliamentary majority, forwarded to the Government, show that the HDZ is a serious and responsible party which knows how to answer all questions at this moment. This especially became evident in passing the Constitutional Law on the Temporary Disability of the President of the Republic to Perform His Duties, Pasalic said. He added that prognoses that the HDZ would fall apart if President Tudjman could no longer act as arbitrary on party issues were futile. The conduct of the Opposition Six alliance is not only disappointing, but also politically compromising, Pasalic said. Their request at the last Parliament session that the presidential mandate of the first Croatian President and the founder of the Croatian state be administratively discontinued is callous, Pasalic stressed. It is horrendous that during individual voting on the Constitutional Law their conscious had not been set in motion and that they could not surface above their present political interests, he said. We hold that in deciding on important political issues they should have shown the will for finding joint solutions by consensus, and it is with these motives that we wished a consensus to be reached, Pasalic said. According to him, the leaders of the biggest opposition parties bore responsibility for the failure of a consensus to be reached. HDZ spokesman Ivica Ropus accused the Opposition for having attempted to cause a constitutional crisis and humiliate the institution and person of the President of the Republic, that is, to pronounce him permanently disabled while he is still alive and in office. (hina) lml