“It would be good if this election yielded political stability”, said Goran Uzelac from Zagreb just before he cast his ballot.
Advertisement
The European Union’s newest member state, Croatia, is holding a snap election this weekend that pits the dominant parties on the left and right against each other but is unlikely to produce a clear victor.
For his part, SDP leader Zoran Milanovic emphasized the need for stability. He became the left-leaning party’s leader in 2007 after the death of previous leader Ivica Racan. However, Milanovic later on Monday dismissed this possibility, and announced that he will not run for SDP president again.
Hours before the polls closed, the turnout among Croatia’s 3.8 million voters was almost 10 percent less than in November.
Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic’s center-right coalition government collapsed because of bickering between the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party and its junior reformist partner MOST.
The populist party Zivi Zid (“Human Shield” in Croatian), which has pledged to fight political corruption and banks, won eight seats on Sunday compared with one in November’s vote.
However, officials of the party were cautious and warned that the initial results may be unrepresentative of the total votes as the results would be skewed towards rural districts that are their stronghold.
With Plenkovic’s moderate agenda, HDZ could also count on the backing of minorities, notably Serbs, as well as Croatians living overseas, its traditional supporters.
Authorities have appeared to turn a blind eye to the far-right surge, but it has sparked worldwide concern and brought already frosty ties with Serbia to their lowest level since Croatia’s 1990s independence war.
Milanovic urged the party to hold the internal vote as soon as possible. The HDZ will meanwhile most likely win all three seats representing voters from outside Croatia, as it did so far. While Plenkovic said his political force would reject a grand coalition with the Social Democrats, some analysts see that as a potential outcome if the election doesn’t produce a clear victor.
Although the two main groups were running neck and neck, the conservatives insisted they have more of a chance to form an alliance with Most than the Social Democrats.
Plenkovic said this week he may seek a new coalition, if needed, with Bridge, whose leader Bozo Petrov said he will work with either of the bigger parties if they agree to his conditions.
The previous HDZ-led coalition’s five-month rule was marked by a shift to the right amid a growing climate of intolerance, including attacks on independent media and minorities, notably ethnic Serbs.
“This is not a new trend, the right-wingers winning”, said Ljerka Kavoci, a Zagreb resident.
Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand. You have now viewed your allowance of free articles.
Advertisement
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
