Croatia's ex-premier and former allies swap accusations, insults

Nov 18, 2010, 15:29 GMT

Zagreb - Croatia's embattled former prime minister, Ivo Sanader, said on Thursday that he was a victim of a political intrigue orchestrated by his one-time allies and followers.

Croatian media have for several months have speculated that Sanader is likely to face charges of corruption in the wake of the arrest and trial of his close associates over the past year.

No criminal charges have been brought against him, though he was questioned by a parliamentary committee last month regarding the privatization of the country's oil company INA.

Sanader, who resigned without an explanation in July 2009, said that Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and deputy assembly speaker Vladimir Seks, now the leading figures in the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, were behind the pressure against him.

'Vladimir Seks said that my end nears ... that indirectly proves that he and Kosor are directing the criminal prosecution targeting me,' he told a news conference.

Sanader's deputy premier, Ivo Polancec, was sentenced last month to 13 months in prison for abuse of office. After Sanander resigned from government and as the leader of HDZ, he withdrew from public life until early 2010, when he tried to regain control over the party.

He and his allies failed in this effort, and he was expelled from the party.

Sanader managed last month to take back his old seat in parliament, a move that was seen as an effort to gain immunity from possible prosecution.

Seks responded to Sanader's accusations on Wednesday night, saying in an interview with Nova TV that 'Sanader shamelessly lies.'

'In a defensive reaction, he chose the ... well-known scenario of lies, slander and intrigue, which is in his very nature,' added Seks, regarded as one of the most powerful politicians in Croatia. 'Sander is the bottom of the moral pit.'

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