ZAGREB (AFP) — Croatia's Prime Minister Ivo Sanader resigned and quit politics on Wednesday, hinting at frustration with his country's delayed EU membership bid as a reason for the shock announcement.
"I have decided to withdraw from active politics and will not run as a candidate for Croatian president" in elections due this year, Sanader told a hastily arranged news conference.
"Thank God I am not ill... and I admit that I did not accept offers for engagement in European Union institutions," he said, appearing relaxed while not elaborating on the move.
Sanader, 56, who has dominated Croatian politics for the past six years, said his party would propose Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor as his immediate successor to President Stipe Mesic.
His surprise move comes after the EU stopped accession talks last week with Zagreb due to a border row with neighbouring EU-member Slovenia, which has blocked the EU process since December.
Asked whether his announcement was prompted by Croatia's stalled EU bid, Sanader admitted the issue had contributed to his decision.
"I certainly also had that in my mind while I was considering this decision," he said.
"The EU... and the project of European integration have no chance if the principle of blackmailing is accepted as a principle of acting within the EU," he said, referring to Ljubljana's position.
Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said Sanader's resignation was an internal matter for Zagreb but expressed hopes that Croatia will continue to seek EU membership.
The border dispute over a small slither of land and sea at Piran Bay was caused by "Zagreb's inclusion in the accession talks of documents that prejudge" the frontier, Pahor said, according to the Slovenian news agency STA.
Meanwhile, Croatia's president voiced surprise at the timing of the conservative premier's resignation.
"Croatia is in a very serious, even critical, economic situation, while our EU talks are stalling due to blocking by Slovenia," Mesic said in a statement issued after his meeting with Sanader.
"The government crisis in such circumstances ... does not contribute to the country's stability and will inevitably cause questions abroad."
Croatia's main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) called for early elections.
"Croatia has found itself without leadership," SDP leader Zoran Milanovic said.
"In such a situation, notably after such a resignation by a premier that was not explained at all, the country needs early elections," he stressed.
Some opposition politicians speculated Sanader stepped down to boost his political options in the future, predicting he would eventually run for president.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said, "I regret his decision even if I respect it."
"Ivo Sanader played a decisive role in strengthening and anchoring Croatia's move towards Europe," Bildt wrote on his blog.
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