An election victory is on the horizon for Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic. According to post-election polls, his conservative party is ahead. The Social Democrats became the second strongest force. Both need coalition partners.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s ruling conservatives will probably be able to maintain their leading position in the Croatian parliamentary elections.
According to the post-election survey, Plenkovic’s party will be the strongest force. Accordingly, the conservative ruling party HDZ can count on 58 seats in parliament. Behind them are the Social Democrats and the SDP with 44 seats. The right-wing populist “Homeland Movement” came in third with 13 seats.
HDZ and SDP would be needed coalition partner
For a majority, 76 seats are needed in the Croatian Parliament. Both the SDP and the HDZ would need coalition partners to form a government. The country’s President, Zoran Milanovic, has announced that he will give the mandate to form a government to whoever can prove 76 votes in parliament.
The conservative MOST and the left-green Mozemo reject a coalition with the HDZ. However, a coalition with the right-wing populist “Homeland Movement” (Domovinski pokret) would be possible. According to the current survey, even their votes would not be enough for a majority.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is considered Plenkovic’s harshest critic.
Strong dislike during the election campaign
The election campaign was characterized by a duel between the two most important political figures in Croatia’s domestic politics and their mutual antipathy: the Prime Minister and HDZ leader Plenkovic on the one hand and President Milanovic on the other.
Milanovic is one of Plenkovic’s harshest critics. The very popular politician is a knock-out populist whose positions oscillate between left and right and sometimes turn 180 degrees within a few days.
Plenkovic – pragmatic power politician
His opponent Plenkovic is considered a moderate in the ranks of the conservative HDZ, parts of which act nationalistically. The Prime Minister is a pragmatic power politician. This has made him compatible so far, even with coalition partners who are not necessarily ideologically close to the HDZ, such as representatives of the Serbian and Italian minorities.
There was a high turnout in the election. By 4:30 p.m., 50.6 percent of voters had voted. That’s more than the number who voted by the end of the election in 2020.
Silke Hahne, ARD Vienna, tagesschau, April 17, 2024 7:59 p.m