HDZ HAS RIGHT TO ANOTHER MANDATE - GRANIC

ZAGREB, Dec 23 (Hina) - The Croatian Democratic Union has the right to another mandate on the basis of its work in the past ten years, an HDZ vice-president and the first candidate on the HDZ roster in the first electoral unit, Mate Granic, told an election rally in the Zagreb suburb Trnje on Wednesday. The HDZ had a vision in the past ten years and it will have the strength needed to make a change in the economic policy, Granic said. Significant progress was made in Croatia's foreign policy in the past decade, the HDZ vice-president said, naming as examples the Split Declaration of 1995 which, he said, had enabled Croatia to carry out the military and police operation 'Storm' and reintegrate the Danube region. There have been failures in the process of privatisation but no country has completed the process of transition without problems, Granic said, adding it was unrealistic to expect such a thing from Croatia, which went through a war. Granic expressed belief that Croatia would very soon join the countries which had been invited to join the European Union. The HDZ will actively support the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, however, it will not "accept any ideas on pushing Croatia into Balkan associations". (hina) rml