Tudjman's party trounced in Croatian poll

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, JAN. 4. Mr. Ivica Racan, a former communist and 55-year- old leader of Croatia's opposition coalition is poised to become the Balkan State's new Prime Minister following Monday's Parliamentary polls in which the late President Franjo Tudjman's HDZ or Croatian Democratic Union Party suffered a crushing defeat.

Although final results will be available only on Friday when the vote-count of expatriate Croats is tallied, the victory of the Social Democrat-Social Liberal alliance has been largely confirmed. Croatia has thus decided to resolutely turn its back on the authoritarian and neo-fascist policies adopted by Franjo Tudjman who died in early December after a long illness. These results augur better ties between Croatia and the rest of the Western world.

The two leaders of the Social Democrat and Social Liberal coalition, Mr. Ivica Racan and Mr. Drazen Budisa were euphoric but said they were aware of the voters' discontent with Tudjman's party and that the results did not come as a surprise. This brings to an end the nine-year reign of the HDZ.

Croatia had become something of a pariah with the European Union because of its failure to cooperate with the International War Crimes Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia and because of the discriminating, even racist, policies adopted by the former Government towards the Serbs of Croatia. ``These results will ensure European credits for Croatia and perhaps kick off talks about Croatia's future membership of the European Union,'' journalist Irina Pavic said.

Tudjman's party, however, is expected to win the majority of the votes cast by Croats living abroad, particularly in the neighbouring Muslim-Croat Federation where the late President's intransigent policies find favour with nationalistic, militant Croats. The Social Democrat-Social Liberal coalition has trounced the HDZ in almost every voting district within Croatia. Croatians go to the polls again on January 24 to elect a new President. Mr. Mate Granic, the outgoing Foreign Minister who is the HDZ's most likely Presidential candidate, conceded defeat in the Parliamentary poll saying his party would hope to be ``a tough opposition''. He said the HDZ had clearly lost the elections adding that ``the results were far below our expectations''.

Mr. Racan has promised to cut public spending by as much as 17 per cent. ``That is not a very socialist approach'', he admitted. ``But the country's economy is in a very bad state and stringent austerity measures are needed.'' Mr. Racan has said he will interfere less in the affairs of Bosnian Croats who are supposed to part of the Muslim Croat entity in Bosnia- Herzegovina. Tudjman, however, never respected his promises and used fair means and foul to preserve a separate identity for Bosnian Croats by undermining the Dayton agreement which brought peace to the troubled multi-ethnic Balkan Republic. Croatian Serbs have not been allowed to return to their homes in the Krajina region of Croatia and elsewhere.

The winning coalition has been calling for greater power to parliament, in a shift of power from the Presidency. Mr. Racan has also pledged to revamp and liberalise the country's broadcast media and cooperate with the U.N. war crimes tribunal, although he feels Croatia may not get fair treatment.

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