Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on Tuesday that the date for the next parliamentary election would be announced in the coming days, emphasising that not any other ruling coalition had announced the election date so much earlier before the polls, which was why she did not know what political responsibility President Ivo Josipovic referred to when speaking about setting the date for the forthcoming parliamentary election.
Addressing reporters in front of the government's building in Zagreb Kosor said that she believed that everybody would be satisfied with the next election date, and stressed that not any other ruling coalition had announced a date for the election so much earlier before the election.
"I think that this shows an exceptional political responsibility of all of us, the government, the governing coalition and my responsibility as the prime minister," Kosor said adding that the election date would be announced in the coming days.
Earlier on Tuesday President Josipovic said that there was no formal deadline for setting the date of the forthcoming parliamentary election but that there was political responsibility and that he expected the election date to be set soon.
Asked by the press if it was alright that Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor had still not said when the election would be held and if she had missed the deadline do so, Josipovic said there was no formal deadline to adopt a decision on calling the election.
"Constitutional deadlines are important, but there is, let's say, political responsibility. Ms Kosor promised that she would say the election date by the end of June... the European Union's decision (on the completion of Croatia's accession negotiations) came a little later. Therefore, I expect that the Croatian public can tolerate that delay in a way and that we will hear the decision on the election date very soon," Josipovic said in response to questions from the press.
In response to Josipovic's statement, Kosor said that she did not know what kind of political responsibility Josipovic was referring to.
"I will recall that I have never heard Josipovic or anybody else criticising for instance Prime Minister Ivica Racan for having announced the election date of 23 November on 22 September. Thus we are in the year in which I have announced on behalf of the coalition that the elections will be held, although the last deadline for the election is 11 March 2012," Kosor said today adding that it would not be fair for President Josipovic to be engaged in the election campaign in any way.
The late Social Democratic Party leader Ivica Racan was at the helm of the SDP-led coalition government from 2000 to 2003.
Kosor recalled that she had already stated that the date of the election would be set after Croatia's completion of the accession negotiations with the European Union. The finalisation of the negotiations was first scheduled for 24 June, but happened on 30 June.
"Given that the finalisation was formally on 30 June, we need a few more days to harmonise all the views. Thus, there is no a state of emergency," she said.
Asked whether Josipovic inclined towards the Opposition, Kosor answered that she did not think so, adding she discussed topics relevant for the cooperation between the government and the president only with the president.
"I say only that it would not be good to have some impression created. This would not be good for anybody. This would not be good either for the Opposition or, of course, for us in the ruling coalition. Certainly, this would neither be good for the President. I an sure that he does not want that," the premier said.
She said that she would talk with the president in the coming days and that she would meet him at the Croatia Summit in Dubrovnik.
