Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi? has solid chances to another term in office after his party gets in the parliamentary election on Sunday, although, as expected, a majority of the mandates, but, nevertheless, surprisingly has scored well. Plenkovi?s “Croatian Democratic community” (HDZ) won the elections in the most recent member state of the EU according to a preliminary vote count a little more than 37 percent of the vote. You will be expected to 66 of the 151 seats in the Sabor (Parliament) in Zagreb.
Michael Martens
a correspondent for Southeast European countries with headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
F. A. Z. Twitter
in Order to get to the to the government a majority of votes, can Plenkovi? between a number of options to choose from. Eight seats in the Croatian Parliament are reserved for representatives of minorities, the largest of which, the Serbian is. In past years, Plenkovi? was supported as Prime Minister on the votes of members of the Serbian minority, which is why he has Croatian nationalists made the absurd accusation that he receive instructions from Belgrade.
a Low turnout due to Corona?
The turnout was only around 46 percent, which is likely to have something to do with the fear of many voting against infection with the Coronavirus had. Worse than in the polls section from the forecast of Croatia’s social Democrats led Alliance of seven parties together to come to a maximum of 43 seats. The hopes of the social Democrats, to replace the HDZ as a leading political force, failed to significantly. Apart from their strongholds Rijeka, Istrian towns such as Opatija and Pula or on the island of Krk, the social Democrats were nearly everywhere behind the HDZ.
the third strongest force in the new Parliament for the first time, competing right-wing populist “homeland movement” of the blow singer Miroslav Skoro, which received nearly 11 per cent, and up to 16 seats will be. It has some prominent Defector from the HDZ in its ranks. Skoro and others accused Plenkovi?, the approaches HDZ is too far to the left of the center and to the Ideal of the state and party founder Franjo Tudjman abandoned. This rhetoric of the “homeland movement secured”, although in fact the unchallenged jump over the five percent hurdle to enter Parliament, weakened the HDZ, but much less than expected. On the contrary, the Plenkovi? is a hit to a critical right wing or edge of the party now clearly. “The HDZ, which has risen for years against Plenkovi?, not (or no longer) exists in a simple,” it said on Monday in a Croatian newspaper comment.
it is significant for the choice of Sunday for the first time to enter a “left-green” Alliance in the Parliament. Parties with a the German Greens similar program in the East and Southeast of Europe is practically non-existent, but at least in Croatia, will be in the upcoming legislative session is different. Under the slogan “Možemo” (“We can”) United Alliance of five smaller parties, with the left and green orientation, was able to win seven mandates. Particularly strong Alliance in the capital city of Zagreb, which could be for future local elections of importance.
victory celebration in the crowd
The accompanying circumstances of the election were from the beginning of the economic crisis, marked. As a result of the ongoing pandemic is already clear that Croatia’s key industry, tourism, after years of ever-new records are commemorating this year, his worst season since people will experience. The existing Trend continues in the second half of the year, could break the revenue to seventy, perhaps even eighty percent. On the difficult circumstances, the Plenkovi? also pointed to the success of his party immediately. At the victory party, the HDZ, under the open sky, but in close turmoil – said the Prime Minister of the victory as an obligation for his party: “We have a difficult mandate, full of trials behind us. But the challenges ahead are even greater.“
