By Igor Ilic
ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia's small reformist party "Most" said on Tuesday it would resume talks on forming a coalition government with opposition party HDZ after it agreed to discuss one of Most's key demands, raising hopes of an end to weeks of wrangling.
The parliamentary election held on Nov. 8 gave the conservative HDZ party 59 seats in the 151-seat parliament, three seats more than the incumbent Socialist-led, centre-left coalition.
"Most" won 19 seats but these have since been reduced to 15 due to internal squabbles. Still, no party can form a cabinet without its support.
Last week, Most demanded that the new prime minister not be affiliated with any party, a condition the HDZ agreed to discuss, but that the incumbent SDP-led coalition rejected.
"All of our 15 deputies were unison in a decision to continue talks with the HDZ on the precondition that a non-party person becomes prime minister. Also, we remain open for further talks with the Social Democrats (SDP) if they want it," the "Most" (Croatian for "bridge") spokesman Nikola Grmoja said.
Three rounds of talks with parliamentary parties on forming a new cabinet have been called already. The latest began on Tuesday, but given that no side has secured a majority yet, another will likely have to be called soon.
"It is still too early to think that we're close to getting a new government. The SDP will not give up efforts to achieve majority, while we still don't know if all the 'Most' deputies will be happy after bilateral talks with the HDZ," said political commentator Jasmina Popovic.
Most, founded three years ago and made up of municipal politicians and independents, has also said it wants consensual government from all three sides, describing this as a prerequisite for the deep reforms needed to revive one of the weakest European Union economies.
It wants to overhaul the public sector and judiciary, reduce taxation pressure on businesses and tame the country's rising public debt.
Both of Croatia's biggest parties agree with "Most" on major reforms, but the SDP wants the incumbent Zoran Milanovic as a future prime minister and deems a broad coalition as unrealistic. The HDZ was also reserved towards a big coalition cabinet.
Croatia is under pressure from the European Commission to pursue swift reforms to encourage investment, reduce unemployment and restrain public debt, which is running close to 90 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The budget gap is at between 4 and 5 percent of GDP.
If no one can win the support of at least 76 deputies, the president must call a new election. There is no legal time limit for such a decision.
(Reporting by Igor Ilic; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
