The ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, scored a victory in the early parliamentary vote on Sunday and now faces a tough task of forming a coalition government after disillusioned voters again failed to produce a clear victor.
Advertisement
“This result gives the HDZ, which is running alone, an opportunity to form a government, with Bridge, the party of Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic, and minorities”, Jandrokovic told Nova TV after ballot stations closed. HDZ will still fall short of an independent majority and the ability to form a government on its own if results are confirmed.
HDZ leader, Andrej Plenkovic, however said that his party is open to collaborate with those who have similar programmatic and ideological terms.
The snap vote was called in the EU’s youngest member state after the previous coalition government collapsed in June.
Both parties have preferred coalition parties.
Early elections registered a low turnout, among the lowest in Croatia’s history with just 52% of the country’s 3.9 million voters heading to the polls.
Its main political rival, a coalition around the Social Democratic Party, SDP, won 54 seats after polls predicted a tighter race, preliminary results showed on Monday.
Yet a government that may need the help of even smaller, populist parties to govern may have every incentive to shy away from pushing through reform measures.
Milanovic, the leader of the Social Democrats, said he’d wait for the final count before commenting on the election. With no party winning a majority in the weekend vote, the deadlock that has stalled much-needed social and economic reforms in is likely to continue.
Addressing his disappointed voters, SDP president Zoran Milanovic said it “wasn’t a happy day for Croatia”, but added that the country now needs a stable government, unlike “the last eight months, when we had a destructive one”.
The nearly year of political deadlock has blocked reforms the former Yugoslav republic badly needs as it emerges from a six-year recession.
The previous Croatian government was formed after an inconclusive election last November following weeks of negotiations between the HDZ and Most. Orešković’s rule was marred by coalition infighting that ended with the resignation of the HDZ leader and deputy prime minister over controversial business links, and brought global criticism over increasing nationalism that has strained already frail relations with neighboring Serbia.
Minority groups in Croatia say ultra-nationalism is resurgent, and denounced the last government for including an alleged far-right sympathiser in its ranks.
Advertisement
They considered the uncertainty could harm the country’s economy which emerged from a six-year recession in 2015 and still remains one of the European Union’s weakest.
