Čović dissatisfied with the agreement between SDA, DF, and the Alliance for Changes

HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović assessed the attempt by the Party of Democratic Action and Željko Komšić's Democratic Front (DF) to form the core of a state-level coalition on Sunday as an unnecessary prejudgment, regardless of who among the Croats or Serbs holds the majority, reports the BiH news agency Patria. 

- It is obvious that the two of them are now playing some game to turn things around a bit. At the meeting between SDA and HDZ, we had an approach to establish government from the bottom up and for it to be homogeneous in structure. It is obvious that their tactic is a bit different now - Čović told the BiH edition of Večernji list today, commenting on the meeting of the leaderships of SDA and DF, who on Sunday afternoon reached an agreement on programmatic principles, and after that a joint agreement on programmatic principles with the Alliance for Changes (SDS, PDP, and NDP), and expressed their readiness to act together in the Council of Ministers. 

Čović explained that it is a waste of time to discuss other coalitions if Dodik establishes power within the next fifteen days, and reiterated that the parties from Sarajevo want to circumvent the agreement that the winners among Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks should be in power. 

- Whoever holds power in Republika Srpska is our partner, whoever it may be. It would be meaningless now to form another government without that power, because we would thereby sideline a part of the state called RS - Čović explained. 

He assessed the statement of SDA Vice-President Bakir Izetbegović, that it would be better for him to take care of the position of Croats than to protect SNSD leader Milorad Dodik, as a provocation. 

- The position of the Croatian people is important to me, and how to achieve what we promised people during the campaign. And that cannot be done without power - said the leader of HDZ BiH and the newly elected Croatian member of the BiH Presidency, writes Večernji list.

Otherwise, after last night's agreement between SDA, DF, and the Alliance for Changes (SDS, PDP, and NDP), an invitation was sent to HDZ BiH to join their programmatic principles. 

- We expect HDZ BiH to take on the role of a truly legitimate representative of the Croatian people. We invite them, there are no conditions, completely open, with the desire for that part to also join this, and to be in the composition of the Council of Ministers without any limitations - emphasized PDP President Mladen Ivanić. 

SDA President Bakir Izetbegović said that he would talk to Čović, emphasizing that the signed programmatic principles do not contain anything that HDZ BiH would oppose, or that is against their interests.