The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković won the largest number of parliamentary mandates (61 out of a total of 151) in the parliamentary elections in Croatia. Independently, however, it cannot form a government.
Dejan Jović, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb and the FPN in Belgrade, tells "Vreme" how and in what direction the coalition negotiations will proceed.
He believes that, despite numerous possibilities, Plenković will try his best to form a government that would not be held hostage by radical nationalism. But it also warns that a slide to the right is possible.
"The results are closer to the pre-election polls than last time." I think that the parties have prepared themselves for the possible scenarios of what can happen after the elections.
For now, it seems that there are possibly three or four more mandates that HDZ should secure. Because if, for example, they go with the current coalition, with minorities and small parties, it means two or three mandates, and I think that would be the thing that HDZ wants the most," explains Jović.
Everyone wants to close the negotiations
He assesses that Plenković wants to strengthen the current coalition with the central-liberal parties. Not to go to the right in search of a coalition with the Homeland Movement.
"However, if it is possible for her and if she does not find any partner on the center and the left, then we will see what will happen next." "Will it be possible for the Homeland Movement to be divided into some groups, or perhaps not to form a government," he says.
Everyone is trying, he adds, to close the negotiations quickly.
"Part of the problem is that Plenković cannot find a partner on the left or in the central area." He tried with the Croatian National Party at one time, but it split on that issue and he managed to take a number of people, another number left the party.
"I think that in Croatian politics, a lot of attention is now being paid to the creation of a sanitary corridor around the HDZ, instead of it being created around the Homeland Movement, the radical right," says Jović.
It seems that there is also the responsibility of the left because it does not want to help Plenković maintain the central course.
"If he will have to enter into a collation with the Domvin movement, the question arises as to whether he will remain the one who will form such a coalition or if he will leave the leadership of the HDZ to someone who is more right-wing than him and a bigger nationalist and maybe go into European politics." , says Jović.
Stolen show
The election campaign was fierce. Current Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Croatian President Zoran Milanović insulted each other until the very end of the election race.
Milanović called Plenković a "flaming badger", and Plenković retorted that he was a "54-year-old snot" (an allusion to the alleged consumption of cocaine).
They praised each other for being a "heroic rabbit", "pyromaniac", "complexed", "jealous", "bad, unreasonable, irrational", "he wiped out the last squirrel", "the one who has nothing to do with the kids".
Although they were in the center of attention, the election results showed that the show was taken away from them by smaller parties, with much less effort. Everything depends on them now.
