Cacic Has Learnt His Lesson, says Racan

We expect the HNS to be smart, we kept quiet after the first declaration, so there is no quarrel with the coalition partner, SDP head said.

If we fail to form a government in a stable coalition, meaning without trades, we shall not form a government at all. The first quarrel in the coalition would mean its disassembling, which I am saying officially, Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) head Ivica Racan said last night.

Commenting on the last declaration of Croatian People’s Party’s (HNS) member Vladimir Cacic’s declaration aiming at the prime minister’s chair, Racan said that after such statements by its candidate, the HNS had learnt the lesson taught by the SDP, adding that he hoped there would be no such cases.

 -- I leave it up to Cacic and Vesna Pusic to exclusively choose positions in the new government – Racan told last night’s “Otvoreno” television show. He added that its was important that the future government, contrary to the current Sanader’s, knew in advance how to solve problems in Croatia.

-- We wish to achieve as good a result as possible in order to form a government as best as possible. It appears that political trade has been inaugurated in this country as something ordinary – Racan said, adding that he would not allow blackmail. – It is better not to form a government than deceit people – he stressed.

Speaking about cooperation with the Croatian Peasants’ Party (HSS),  which was the SDP’s coalition partner in the former government and which has decided to run in elections with the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), which, in turn, was the ruling Croatian Democratic Union’s (HDZ) partner, Racan said these parties were waiting to see who the winner of the 2007 election would be.

Considering that an unavoidable subject is the incumbent prime minister, Ivo Sanader, Racan described him as a man behaving like a chief who chose people in accordance with their obedience.

-- On the contrary, I wish to gather people who are smarter than I am. I have authority, but am not the boss. I have not introduced a one person cult in the party – he concluded.

What Sanader did well was to continue projects started by the former coalition government, Racan said, holding against Sanader a number of affairs which were surfacing recently. Besides, he continued, the premier could use to less curry favour with the EU and be a little less arrogant towards us in Croatia.

Racan, however, applauds the fact that “Sanader knows how to market a bad product, while we (the SDP) did not know how to market a good product”.