The Croatian Parliament approved on Friday evening, May 17, the new government of conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, in power since 2016, who retained power following the last elections by joining forces with the Patriotic Movement (DP) , a conservative nationalist right-wing party.
Third force in Parliament with 14 seats, behind the 61 seats of Mr. Plenkovic’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the 42 elected representatives of the Social Democratic Party, the Patriotic Movement stands out with a nationalist, anti-immigration, anti- -LGBT, and advocates the ban on abortion. Out of 18 ministries, three will be led by executives from the DP, founded in 2020 and joined by many former radical members of the HDZ, unhappy with Mr. Plenkovic’s moderate and pro-European policies.
The DP will notably lead a new ministry, that of demography. The objective: “Change in mentalities and a range of all possible political measures which will encourage and strengthen our families, create conditions for there to be more children in our families”explained the Prime Minister.
“Ensuring political stability for Croatian society”
Out of 151 deputies elected in the legislative elections of May 17, “141 took part in the vote, 79 voted for, one abstained, and 61 voted against”said Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic. “I see that trust has been granted” to the new cabinet, he added. “Citizens have placed trust in those (…) who are capable of ensuring political stability for Croatian society, above all its economy”Mr. Plenkovic, 54, pro-European president of the HDZ, declared earlier in the day during the presentation of his program to Parliament.
In this country, a member of the European Union and NATO, whose finances depend largely on tourism, Andrej Plenkovic especially insisted on the economy. “When we started, in 2016, we were at 62% of development at European Union level [la convergence du niveau de vie par rapport à la moyenne du bloc]. Today we are at 76% (…) and we will certainly manage to be between 80% and 82% in 2028”promised Mr. Plenkovic, who thus hoped to slow down the flight of workers from which the country is suffering.
Croatia is expected to record economic growth of 3.3% in 2024, according to European Commission forecasts, compared to 1% on average in the European Union, he said. “We are worried because the main partner [du HDZ] in the new government is the formation which clearly expressed positions contrary to the values of the Croatian Constitution”declared opposition MP Sandra Bencic during the debate.