"Croatia's difficult transformation into a democracy is significantly linked to Ivica Racan's work. He deserves credit for enabling that country to become an integral part of the European family of peoples. His self-sacrificing manner, ability to implement his ideas and his visions made him one of the most prominent politicians of the whole region," the Austrian news agency APA quoted Gusenbauer as saying.
APA also reported about Racan's participation in Croatian Spring in 1971, his demand for greater autonomy from the then federal government in Belgrade, and his leaving a Communist Party congress in early 1990.
"He earned acknowledgement in early 1990 as he and the Slovene delegation, coming into conflict with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's nationalists, walked out of the Party's Congress in Belgrade and then peacefully ceded power in Croatia."
APA said recent polls showed that Racan's SDP was constantly near the top and that a change of government in the autumn was not ruled out. However, the SDP first has to agree on Racan's successor, the agency added.