March the 19th, 2025 – A new Ipsos survey, conducted for Manjgura back in February, polled 984 citizens to gauge their views on the unsuccessful cooperation between the two political mountains – President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
The results revealed that 84 percent of those surveyed do not support the “hard cohabitation” between the two leaders, as Plenković referred to it in 2020. Respondents believe the top state leaders should put aside personal conflicts and cooperate in the state’s interest, as their collaboration is important for Croatia.
Interestingly, the desire for cooperation is shared by a large majority of HDZ (89%) and SDP (93%) members, even more so than by members of the Most (79%) and Možemo! (86%) parties.
Half of the respondents could not decide on who was to blame for the lack of cooperation, so they agreed that both Milanović and Plenković share responsibility.
Surprisingly, 57 percent of HDZ voters agree that both leaders are equally to blame, while only 35 percent of SDP voters share this view. Supporters of Most and Možemo!, as well as HDZ voters, largely agree that both the President and the Prime Minister are equally responsible for the failed cooperation.
However, 17.6 percent of respondents believe that Plenković bears slightly more responsibility for the failed cooperation, while only 6.5 percent blame Milanović. The opinions are clearly divided along party lines: HDZ voters and their coalition partners primarily blame Milanović, while left-wing supporters tend to blame Plenković, and Most voters exclusively hold Plenković responsible. Interestingly, just over a third of HDZ respondents to the new Ipsos survey attribute the poor cooperation to the President, while over half of SDP voters, as well as a third of opposition party supporters, hold Plenković accountable.
Demographically, respondents to the new Ipsos survey from all age groups across Croatia largely agree that both leaders are to blame for the failed cooperation and that they should resolve their personal conflicts to work together for the country’s benefit. A full 72 percent of respondents want the President and Prime Minister to cooperate successfully, while a fifth remain indifferent to their relationship.
