Zagreb Daily Report - February 1, 2010

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000069 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL HR SUBJECT: Zagreb Daily Report - February 1, 2010 ¶1. (U) Former Defense Minister's Trial on Military Truck Procurement Case Begins at the Zagreb County Court: On Friday, January 29, the trial of former Defense Minister Berislav Roncevic, and former MoD State Secretary Ivo Bacic began in Zagreb. Roncevic and Bacic, who are charged with the illegal purchase of 39 trucks from the Eurokamion import company, pleaded not guilty. The defendants' defense attorneys claimed that the competing MAN trucks, with a bid that would have been HRK 10.2 million (approximately USD 2m) cheaper, did not meet the required technical specifications. The state prosecutors argued that the MAN trucks had been tested by the Defense Ministry and fulfilled all the necessary technical requirements. The trial continues this week. ¶2. (U) PM Kosor Remains Popular; Her Party Trails Opposition: For the first time in nearly 6 years, a majority of those polled (51 per cent of Croatian respondents) in the PULS agency's monthly political poll approved of the Government's performance. Less encouraging for Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, however, was that her Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, the largest party of the ruling coalition, received the support of 27.6 percent of those polled, while the main opposition, the Social Democratic Party (SDP),tops the ranking with 34-percent support. The Croatian People's Party (HNS),a liberal opposition party, is the third most popular party with eight per cent support. Departing President Stjepan Mesic regained the position as the most popular politician in Croatia, followed by his successor - Croatia's president-elect, Ivo Josipovic. PM Kosor is the third most popular politician in the country and SDP's leader Zoran Milanovic is fourth. ¶3. (U) New Chairman for Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee: The Croatian Parliament has relieved Mario Zubovic (HDZ) of his duties as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and chosen Frano Matusic, also from the HDZ and an MP from Dubrovnik, as the new chairman. The motion to unseat Zubovic came from the HDZ Caucus, and was clearly linked to the role he has played in the past few months as one of former PM Ivo Sanader's most loyal allies in the Sabor. Zubovic has also been stripped of his partisan duties as the HDZ's political secretary and deputy whip. Matusic, the new committee chair, was a participant in a May 2004 International Visitors program for new parliamentarians. FOLEY