Most wants to change how political parties are financed, lower business taxes, and create an Adriatic economic zone – a proposal that would likely need extensive talks with Croatia’s European Union partners.
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The Social Democrats are set to win 55 seats, with HDZ in second place at 53, according to a survey by Ipsos Puls published by Nova TV. But his junior partners, the Croatian People’s Party, are keen to steer him away from populism and back towards the sort of policies enacted during the four years when he was prime minister. Milanovic expressed hope that the next Croatian government will be formed soon, saying that the instability of the past several months must not be repeated. The turnout was only 52.38 per cent, according to the State Electoral Commission, which means that of 3.8 million registered voters, only 1.9 million cast ballots.
“For the past months we had an unstable and destructive (one)”, he stressed.
Having suffered six years of recession, Croatia’s economy is on the up, with growth accelerating to 2.8 percent in the second quarter of this year. It fell because of bickering within the ruling coalition.
Among Most’s initial demands were changes to the financing of political parties, lower taxes for businesses and an Adriatic economic zone – a bold proposal that would likely require extensive consultation with Croatia’s European Union partners.
Over the past months, political life in the country, which emerged from the wreckage of Yugoslavia 25 years ago, has been dominated by populist rhetoric and gestures from all sides that has brought relations with neighboring Serbia to their lowest point since the end of the 1990s Balkan wars.
The men vying most strongly to become prime minister – Social Democrat chief Zoran Milanovic and new HDZ leader Andrej Plenkovic – both began their careers in the foreign ministry, and Croatia is now facing tough diplomatic challenges. Last November’s poll produced no clear victor.
Minority groups in Croatia say ultra-nationalism is resurgent, and denounced the last government for including an alleged far-right sympathiser in its ranks. However, in the past few weeks it has sought to remake its image as a centrist party under new leader Plenkovic.
With a conservative agenda, the party is seen as closer to the HDZ than the SDP.
Some 3.8 million Croatians are eligible to cast ballots after a November election produced no absolute victor.
President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic urged more Croats to come out and vote, saying the country’s future is in their hands. “We can’t complain later if the outcome of the election is not the way we want it to be”.
Croatia remains one of the EU’s mostly poorly performing economies despite recent positive developments linked to its European Union membership.
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Croatia is gripped by an economic downturn for six years in one of Europe’s weakest economies, where unemployment runs at 13 percent.
