Upcoming EU and national elections in Croatia will confuse voters, analysts warn

As Croatia enters campaign mode ahead of EU elections in June and parliamentary elections due at the end of April or in May, following the dissolution of parliament expected no later than 22 March, sources close to the ruling HDZ party say that holding national elections before the EU elections is a strategic move, while analysts warn it could cause confusion among voters.

Following the announcement of the dissolution of parliament by Croatian Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković, national elections will likely be held at the end of April or on one of the first three Sundays in May, before the European elections in June.

Sources from Plenković’s ruling HDZ party told Euractiv that the party’s call for a dissolution comes as the party is banking on the €1.63 billion allocated to the budget for public sector pay, which after 1 April would translate to a 32% salary increase for 244,000 civil servants and public sector employees.

According to the same sources, the HDZ is also eager to hold elections now because the Rafale fighter jets bought from France are expected to arrive in Croatia in the spring, which would allow the HDZ to show it is arming the country amid tense geopolitical circumstances and instability in the Western Balkans.

“The message with which the HDZ is going to these elections is: ‘We are ready for the elections, we offer you stability, and on the other side, there is chaos, the opposition offers you nothing’.

Political scientist and sociologist Anđelko Milardović said Plenković and the HDZ are trying to buy votes with pay rises and various other social measures, especially for pensioners.

“What is this but well-designed corruption, and that at the very top of the state government?” he asked.

However, the fact that the parliamentary elections will be held only a few weeks before the European Parliament elections, scheduled for 9 June, means that the campaigns for these two elections could confuse voters “who will not know what or who they are voting for”.

Moreover, if Plenković appears on both the parliamentary and the European Parliament lists, it could give the opposition additional ammunition to attack Plenković and the HDZ.

“The opposition would use this to warn voters that it is not clear whether Plenković wants to stay in Croatia or is ‘looking’ for a position in the EU,” notes one of our sources.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that Plenković wants to stay in Croatia.

“Plenković wants another, third term as PM. He wants to be remembered in Croatian history as a record holder in the position of PM,” she says.

(Adriano Milovan | Euractiv.hr)