Three weeks after the parliamentary elections in Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is heading towards a coalition with the ultra-right Homeland Movement. At an event held by his conservative ruling party HDZ on Thursday in Zagreb, Plenković said that there were already 76 signatures from elected representatives “for the formation of a new, stable government.” The Croatian Parliament has 150 members, 76 is the minimum number for a government majority. The HDZ won 61 mandates in the election on April 18, the homeland movement 14.
However, two MPs who were elected on the ultra-right party’s list do not want to support the HDZ-led government in the EU country. Plenkovic left it unclear on Thursday where he would get the remaining three votes from. Traditionally, however, there are always representatives in the Croatian Parliament from smaller parties or representatives of ethnic minorities who support a government majority.
In the past, the homeland movement was notable for its anti-Serbian, illiberal and historical revisionist rhetoric. Their strongholds are in the Eastern Slavonia region, which borders Serbia and was severely affected by the Serbian war of aggression from 1991 to 1995. Today, only four percent of Croatia’s citizens are ethnic Serbs.
According to Plenković, the coalition negotiations with the homeland movement are well advanced. It was agreed that the small coalition partner should receive three ministries, including a new department for population policy. Like other countries in the region, Croatia suffers from a strong emigration, especially of younger citizens, and a low birth rate.