Croatia: new victory for Plenkovic’s centre-right, but allies are needed to form the government

After the vote in the parliamentary elections, it seems that Croatia will find itself faced with a period of negotiations and agreements between the various political forces for the formation of a majority capable of governing the country for the next four years. The conservatives of Democratic Union party (HDZ), in power in the country continuously for 8 years, have in fact won yesterday’s elections again but do not have sufficient numbers to govern alone. According to data from Electoral Commission (Dep) with the counting practically concluded, the HDZ of outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic obtained 61 seats in the Zagreb Assembly (just over 34 percent of the preferences), compared to 66 four years ago. Following, the “Rijeka Pravde” coalition is the second force in the country (Rivers of Justice) led by Social Democratic Party (SDP) with 42 seats (24.5 percent of the vote). Scrolling through the numbers, the HDZ party prevailed in eight of the ten constituencies, plus the one dedicated to the vote of citizens abroad (all three seats went to HDZ)while the “Rijeka Pravde” coalition, led by the SDP, prevailed in two constituencies, including the one that includes the Istria region with the city of Rijeka (Rijeka) and by a whisker even in the city of Split.

For Plenkovic’s party, however, it was a victory in all the other main cities of the country including the capital Zagreb and Zadar. Voter turnout was around 63 percent, much higher than the 46.9 percent four years ago. According to analysts, this being the case, all options are open for a governing coalition since the numbers of the two major parties are far from the 76 seats needed for a majority government in the Croatian Sabor. “Negotiations on the composition of the future government after the parliamentary elections will begin immediately,” announced party president Andrej Plenkovic last night in a speech from the party’s electoral headquarters after the first preliminary results that put him at the top of the polls. This morning the HDZ president reiterated on Facebook that it will soon be known who the HDZ will form the majority with: “We spoke with some of our colleagues already on election night and we continue our talks today. Everything is going well, the winners of the elections will lead the government also in the third term”, assured Plenkovic. “The results are not what we hoped for, but they show that two thirds of Croatian citizens want change”, countered the leader of the SDP party, Pedja Grbin, in any case the great disappointment of this electoral round.

“From tomorrow, talks will begin with those who have said that they will not join the HDZ,” continued Grbin, confirming his party’s willingness to form transversal alliances with all the political forces, even from the opposite side, to succeed in expelling the party of Plenkovic from the leadership of the country. The first official statements from the country’s president also arrived in the afternoon Zoran Milanovic, who had supported, albeit externally due to “constitutionality problems”, the campaign of the Social Democratic party. His words seem to go in the same direction. “Talks are underway on the formation of a new parliamentary majority,” said Milanovic, who argued that “the parties that have firmly taken the side of the fight against corruption, that do not want Croatia to be held hostage by crime and inequality before the law, obtained two-thirds of the votes.” The president then recalled that the mandate to form the new government “can only be given to a person who demonstrates that he enjoys the support of 76 deputies elected to the Croatian Parliament”.

According to experts, it will therefore be up to the Patriotic Movement, a far-right political formation and the third political force in the country which has obtained 14 mandates in the Assembly, decide with its own moves the fate of the country’s government. Without their participation it seems there can be no government, neither of the HDZ nor of the left-wing opposition. The movement, born four years ago as an offshoot of HDZ, has internally heterogeneous positions on collaboration with Plenkovic’s party. “A difficult period of negotiations and intense consultations will follow. We have a great responsibility, we are the third political force but I think we will be up to the task,” said Stijepo Bartulica, a member of the same party who arrived at the headquarters of the political formation this morning. Two other political formations that obtained a significant number of seats in yesterday’s vote and will probably be the deciding factor for the future executive are the Catholic-conservative formation Most, which obtained 11 seats and the green and progressive formation Mozemo! who has 10 mandates. “There is no situation in which we will collaborate with the HDZ,” however, the head of the movement said this morning Nikola Grmoja excluding a priori a collaboration with Plenkovic’s conservative party.

“What happens in the next few days will depend on the final result and then on all of us,” Plenkovic underlined, adding that he had not yet discussed cooperation with the SDP-led left. Also from Mozemo! messages arrive against collaboration with the winning party of the electoral round. The political formation has in fact invited all the major parties in Croatia to unite to “overthrow” the Croatian Democratic Union party (Hdz). “We must not forget that the number one objective is to remove power from HDZ. This goal is still achievable,” said the party’s prime ministerial candidate Sandra Bencic, who this morning added that so far there has been no discussion on the issue with the other parties. Finally, the Istrian Democratic Diet will be present in the Zagreb Parliament with two deputies (Ids) and the independent Nord platform (Nezavisna platforma Sjever) while the Fokus party secured a mandate.

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