Vice-President of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Zlatko Komadina, said on Saturday he is prepared to lead the party, but that the situation within the party needs to calm down first.

Top SDP officials gathered on Friday afternoon at an unknown location outside Zagreb to try to persuade party president Davor Bernardic to resign over the party’s dissatisfaction with his leadership and poor ratings.  

They, however, were not successful and the talks will resume on Sunday.  

“I am prepared to lead the party and organise the election, but I need time and peace within the party,” Komadina, who would be leading the SDP if the procedure to remove the current leader, Davor Bernardic, would be initiated, told the public broadcaster, HRT.  

“I am a legalist. We must do whatever will strengthen the party, as it is more important than an individual. I believe that my colleague Bernardic will think it through and do what is best,” Komadina said.  

Bernardic has also been invited to attend a joint session of the party presidency and the SDP parliamentary bench in the party headquarters in Zagreb on Monday which, according to unofficial sources, gives him hope that he would manage to keep the position of the party president.