Croatian Leftists Accept MOST's Coalition Terms

Croatia's governing centre-left coalition, Croatia Grows, on Wednesday said it had accepted the key terms set by the post-election kingmaker party, the Bridge of Independent Lists, MOST.

Zoran Milanovic, acting Prime Minister and head of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, said he had accepted two of MOST's main conditions: the formation of a national unity government alongside the opposition centre-right Patriotic Coalition and a non-party prime minister.

Question remained, however, about whether Milanovic and the centre-left coalition were sincere in acepting the proposals, or had made the move for purely tactical reasons.

General elections in November resulted in a deadlock, with Croatia Grows winning 56 of the 151 seats and the Patriotic Coalition, led by the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, winning 59.

A newcomer to politics, MOST won 19 seats, which has since fallen to 15, however, after some members left or were expelled from the party.

At a first joint meeting in Zagreb on December 7 between all three sides, MOST announced its two key proposals.

Croatia Grows initially rejected the offer on Saturday while the Patriotic Coalition conditionally said it accepted them on Monday.

In his letter on Wednesday, Milanovic said he now accepted the terms set by MOST, adding two conditions of his own.

"All partners in this process [of forming the government] should get rid of their members... who have confirmed indictments for serious criminal offences," Milanovic's letters reads.

Milanovic also said his coalition would not cooperate with any parties "inciting racial, religious or any other bigotry" or which question the rights of minorities in Croatia.

Although he did not specify who this referred to, it most...