ZAGREB, May 6 (Hina) - The European Commission's positive opinion on Croatia's European Union membership application has increased popular support to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party and made its leader and Prime Minister Ivo
Sanader the most popular politician in the country, ahead of President Stjepan Mesic, according to an early May public opinion survey.
ZAGREB, May 6 (Hina) - The European Commission's positive opinion on
Croatia's European Union membership application has increased popular
support to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party and made its
leader and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader the most popular politician in
the country, ahead of President Stjepan Mesic, according to an early
May public opinion survey.#L#
Sanader has been voted the most positive politician for the first
time, supported by 32 percent of the population, while Mesic is
second, with public support going down from 28.3 percent in early
April to 27 percent, according to the Promocija Plus agency survey
which included 1,300 Croatians.
Former PM and leader of the Social Democratic Party Ivica Racan is
third, enjoying the support of 8.4 percent of the population, down
from 9.7 percent a month ago.
Among the 12 politicians who received more than one percent of support
as the most positive are Tonci Tadic and Anto Djapic of the Croatian
Party of Rights (HSP), Vesna Pusic and Radimir Cacic of the Croatian
People's Party (HNS), Zlatko Tomcic of the Croatian Peasant Party
(HSS), independent MP Slaven Letica, and Education Minister Dragan
Primorac.
Among the most popular there are no top officials from the Croatian
Social Liberal Party (HSLS), the Democratic Centre (DC) and the
Croatian Pensioners Party (HSU).
The HDZ continues to be the most popular party, whose support has gone
up from 31.5 to 35.2 percent in the last month. The SDP is second with
21.3 percent, up from 21.1 a month ago, the HNS third with 8.3
percent, down from 9.9 in early April, and the HSP with 6.3 percent,
down from 7.5 percent. The popularity of the HSS has grown slightly,
from 4.7 to 4.9 percent.
The HSU is continuing to lose public support, receiving the vote of
2.4 percent in early May. All liberal parties lag behind, the HSLS
with 1.8 percent of the popular vote, the Liberal Party with 0.8 and
Libra with 0.7 percent, while the popularity of the DC remains around
one percent.
The Ivo Sanader Cabinet's policy is mostly supported by 47.9 percent
of respondents, 16.5 percent support it fully, while 18.8 percent
neither do nor do not support it. The survey shows that 9.3 percent of
respondents do not support the government's work at all while 7.6
percent say they absolutely do not support it.
(Hina) ha