Croatia to face increased protests ahead of elections

Politicians and union leaders are no longer hiding their dissatisfaction regarding the current leadership in the country, with calls for protest expected to increase exponentially as the country gears up for a “super election year”.

The protests are taking place in a year when there are three elections – for the European Parliament and the Sabor (parliament), as well as for the head of state.

Although few are willing to publicly admit that the protests are linked to the “super-election” year, when the government is also more likely to meet (at least some of) the protesters’ demands, there is little doubt that the imminent turnout at the polls is fuelling public expressions of discontent.

The left-liberal opposition parties have announced a protest on St Mark’s Square in Zagreb this Saturday, where the prime minister’s office and parliament are located. They plan to protest against the appointment of Ivan Turudić as chief prosecutor.

The opposition parties characterised the announced rally as “a warning protest for the defence of democracy“.

Several large protests have already taken place in recent weeks.

Last week, teachers and scientists protested against the government in St Mark’s Square, while the previous week, masters of physiotherapy took to the streets.

At the end of January, judges went on strike, only dealing with ‘urgent’ cases while protesting against their salaries.

Also, in January, journalists protested in Zagreb and Split over announced changes to the criminal code, which would make the publication of leaks a criminal offence. The Croatian Journalist Association said it was an attack on media freedom and an attempt to abolish investigative journalism.

Doctors have also announced a strike over low wages and poor working conditions.

“Of course, the elections are one of the reasons why we have so many protests this year. In addition, many people are fed up with the negative effect that the long reign of Andrej Plenković has had on Croatian society”, political scientist and sociologist Anđelko Milardović told Euractiv.

He added that protests could mark the whole year, but most of them are expected before the parliamentary elections, which are currently not scheduled.

“Protests are a legal and legitimate way of expressing dissatisfaction. They are also good for the development of democracy,” says Milardović.

Although she agrees with the assessment that 2024 will most likely be the year of protests, political analyst and communication expert, Ankica Mamić says that she does not expect Croatia to be rocked by mass demonstrations.

“The mass protest was the one in 1996 because of Radio 101, where more than 100,000 citizens gathered. The protests we have now are much smaller, and they are organised by interest groups that legally seek the fulfilment of some of their goals in an election year,” Mamić told Euractiv.

She added that the unions are organising protests in a “super-election year”, knowing that the government is now at its most vulnerable and ready to make concessions.

(Adriano Milovan, Euractiv.hr)