Croatian People's Party (HNS) leader Vesna Pusic said Racan's death was sad news and the end of a political era. She recalled her intensive cooperation with Racan during the coalition government, when she said the coalition's members were just learning how coalitions functioned, something unknown in Croatia until then.
"In those dramatic conditions Ivica Racan was the only person who could endure that kind of complicated decision-making," she said, adding that Racan did not rush decisions and that he was prone to seeking a compromise among different opinions, which she said made his government successful.
"At that time, there were very few people in Croatia who had the nerves to lead such a decision-making process," said the leader of the HNS party.
Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) leader Josip Friscic said Racan dedicated his whole life to the development of social democracy in Croatia's politics and that it was he, at the helm of the Croatian delegation which walked out of a Yugoslav communist congress in Belgrade, who launched the process of Croatia's independence and deserved credit for that.
Racan also deserves credit for advocating that Croatia should come out of the 1990s war as an organised country and as such should join the European Union, Friscic said, adding that Racan also invested great effort in doing everything that was necessary for the best possible preparation for accession negotiations.
"With Racan's passing everything will certainly be different and many processes will take a different course," Friscic said.
Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) leader Anto Djapic said Racan's death was an irretrievable loss for the SDP and Croatia's politics. He added he had fair relations with Racan and would personally miss him on the political scene.
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) leader Djurdja Adlesic said Racan was a moral authority in Croatia's politics and that it would be impossible to compensate for his death in politics or the SDP. She added Racan made a strong and good contribution to the creation of the Croatian state.
Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) vice president Damir Kajin too highlighted Racan's big role in recent Croatian history.
"Because of the war, Croatia did not have a peaceful transition, and in 2000, he set himself as the foundation of a peaceful change of authority... Racan's role in recent Croatian history should be sought in that peacefulness and the stability that was achieved," said Kajin.