The last parliamentary elections in Croatia did not produce a winner who could form a new government on his own. The results clearly indicate that the extreme right will also have to be part of the future majority. This means that the party that stood third in the elections, the Homeland Movement (DP), is likely to play a key role, noted the Serbian weekly NIN.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 61 seats on Wednesday, the coalition around the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) - (42), and the Homeland Movement (DP) - (14). The nature of the future majority will depend on this third party, wrote NIN.
The chairman of the DP, also the mayor of Vukovar, located on the border with Serbia, and former HDZ MP, Ivan Penava, announced in his speech after the elections that he firmly maintains his position regarding participation in the government, in opposition to the inclusion of the largest Croatian Serb party (SDSS) or the leftist movement We Can! in the coalition.
Penava, as the weekly emphasizes, is widely known for his nationalist views, “including flirtation with the Ustaše [Croatian allies of the Third Reich—TVP World].” As the mayor of Vukovar, a symbol of the war with Yugoslavia in the 1990s, he defended the Ustaše call “Za dom spremni” [“For home – ready!”– TVP World] and their “U” sign.
“For thirty years, Croatia has been trying to prove to itself, the Serbs, and the world that we are not Ustaše, and then Penava appears and takes us back to the 1940s,” the daily “Slobodna Dalmacija” wrote about the politician.
As mayor of Vukovar, the DP leader fought against the Cyrillic alphabet, the local Serb minority’s alphabet. He also opposed bilingual signs in the city.
Analyst Krešimir Macan explains the increase in the popularity of the right wing in Croatia with the formation of three stable blocs with this political orientation: HDZ, DP, and the fourth force of the last elections, The Bridge. “The majority started from the center and then moved towards the conservative-Catholic option. DP attracts all those who turned away from HDZ after Prime Minister Plenković directed this party towards the center,” he explains.
He adds that although the far right has always found a place on the Croatian political scene, the DP has adopted new demands, opposing immigration and the so-called Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women.
The chairman of the DP, also the mayor of Vukovar, located on the border with Serbia, and former HDZ MP, Ivan Penava, announced in his speech after the elections that he firmly maintains his position regarding participation in the government, in opposition to the inclusion of the largest Croatian Serb party (SDSS) or the leftist movement We Can! in the coalition.
Penava, as the weekly emphasizes, is widely known for his nationalist views, “including flirtation with the Ustaše [Croatian allies of the Third Reich—TVP World].” As the mayor of Vukovar, a symbol of the war with Yugoslavia in the 1990s, he defended the Ustaše call “Za dom spremni” [“For home – ready!”– TVP World] and their “U” sign.
“For thirty years, Croatia has been trying to prove to itself, the Serbs, and the world that we are not Ustaše, and then Penava appears and takes us back to the 1940s,” the daily “Slobodna Dalmacija” wrote about the politician.
As mayor of Vukovar, the DP leader fought against the Cyrillic alphabet, the local Serb minority’s alphabet. He also opposed bilingual signs in the city.
Analyst Krešimir Macan explains the increase in the popularity of the right wing in Croatia with the formation of three stable blocs with this political orientation: HDZ, DP, and the fourth force of the last elections, The Bridge. “The majority started from the center and then moved towards the conservative-Catholic option. DP attracts all those who turned away from HDZ after Prime Minister Plenković directed this party towards the center,” he explains.
He adds that although the far right has always found a place on the Croatian political scene, the DP has adopted new demands, opposing immigration and the so-called Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women.
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