ZAGREB, March 30 (Hina) - Assessing the first 100 days of the Croatian Democratic Union-led (HDZ) government, the parliamentary opposition have praised Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's efforts to bring Croatia closer to EU membership but
criticised the lack of development projects, notably in the economy. The parties supporting the government have praised its activities on both the home and the external front.
ZAGREB, March 30 (Hina) - Assessing the first 100 days of the Croatian
Democratic Union-led (HDZ) government, the parliamentary opposition
have praised Prime Minister Ivo Sanader's efforts to bring Croatia
closer to EU membership but criticised the lack of development
projects, notably in the economy. The parties supporting the
government have praised its activities on both the home and the
external front.#L#
The leader of the opposition Social Democrats, Ivica Racan, said on
Monday the biggest success of the Sanader Cabinet had been achieved in
foreign affairs but underlined this was not enough to live on since
not much could be done with a three percent growth rate. He criticised
what he said was the complete lack of development and economic
programmes.
"I'm afraid the HDZ is doing everything to undermine development
projects. Another minus is the widening rift between the image it
tries to project of the party as reformed and practice, namely the
rift between Sanader's reformed HDZ and the unreformed HDZ," said
Racan.
The leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, Zlatko Tomcic, said the HDZ
deserved a relatively good grade for moves in foreign policy but a
very poor one for home affairs.
Tomcic in particular criticised the government for what he said was
parliament's distancing from a debate on the unacceptable parts of the
Hague war crimes tribunal's indictments against generals Ivan Cermak
and Mladen Markac, and for what he said was the questionable
possibility and lawfulness of giving Serbs who left Croatia their
tenancy rights back.
Tomcic's main objection to the government's performance, however, is
the lack of an economic policy.
The leader of the opposition Croatian Party of Rights, Anto Djapic,
said the government had focused all of its actions on receiving a
positive opinion on its EU membership application, at the expense of
economic, social and other issues important to citizens.
"The government has turned into a big foreign ministry, while internal
affairs are not at all different from those led by Racan's (previous
government)," said Djapic.
The leader of the opposition Croatian People's Party, Vesna Pusic,
praised Sanader's government for what she said had been several good
moves on the foreign policy front, notably in relation to minority
issues and admission to the EU, but complained about the lack of any
vision of how the HDZ intended to lead the country, particularly in
the economy.
The leader of the opposition Libra, Jozo Rados, shares a similar view.
He said the government's activity in international relations had been
good and very logical, but added that politics were founded on
development projects, in which he said the HDZ had failed completely.
"The consequences of these wrong moves may be felt very soon in the
form of stagnation and social problems," Rados said.
On the other side, the leaders of the Social Liberals (HSLS), the
Democratic Centre, the Pensioners Party, the Serb Democratic
Independent Party (SDSS), and the Party of Democratic Action (SDA)
supported the HDZ government, saying it had done a lot in improving
Croatia's image abroad. As for economic effects, it was not possible
to feel them in the government's first 100 days, they said.
HSLS leader Djurdja Adlesic said the HDZ government's honeymoon period
had completely refuted the claim that the HDZ would not take Croatia
into the EU and showed that the HDZ was much better and more
successful than the previous coalition government.
SDSS vice president Milorad Pupovac said the government had started
dealing with determination with winning back citizens' trust, the
minority policy, "shedding light on the past and distancing itself
from the 20th century's defeated ideologies".
Pupovac criticised the government's make-up, which he said was
incapable of implementing the state policy. "The government has a
strong policy but a weak personnel."
SDA leader Semso Tankovic applauded the positive atmosphere the
Sanader Cabinet was spreading but criticised the lack of will to
implement what it had agreed to do with representatives of ethnic
minorities, notably Bosniaks.
HSU parliamentary deputy Dragutin Pukles said the government's actions
and will to achieve something were tangible, but added that it was
difficult to expect big results in a short time. "The government is
evidently preparing something concrete on the economic front, but it's
not easy to kickstart an economy in this state."
(Hina) ha sb