As a new political power broker is born in Croatia, the initial reactions to the election results from the president and leaders of HDZ, SDP and MOST.
After 99.5 percent of polling stations have been processed, both main coalitions – Patriotic Coalition led by HDZ and Croatia Is Growing coalition led by SDP – have won five constituencies each, while Patriotic Coalition has won the three seats elected by Croatian nationals living abroad, reports Novi List and Vecernji List on November 9, 2015.
In total, Patriotic Coalition has won 59 seats in parliament (56 in 10 regular constituencies in Croatia and 3 in “diaspora”). Croatia is Growing coalition has won 56 seats, and MOST has won 19 seats in parliament, which is the biggest surprise of this elections. The rest of the seats went to IDS (3), HDSSB (2), Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić (2), Živi Zid (1), and Successful Croatia (1). National minorities have elected additional 8 members of parliament.
The total number of seats in parliament is 151, so the new government will be formed by a coalition which can get the support of at least 76 members. Given the results, it is obvious that MOST will be a key for deciding who will be the next prime minister. MOST is a group of mostly independent candidates led by Božo Petrov, mayor of Metković in southern Croatia. Since this is the first time they have take part in parliamentary elections and the fact that they have members with vastly different views, at the moment it is hard to predict which of the two main coalitions they are closer to.
During the night, leaders of the main parties gave speeches commenting on the election results. HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko gave a speech at about 1 am. ” I have to say that we have won the parliamentary elections. This victory is the biggest of all our victories and we are going to lead this country. Two-thirds of our citizens have opted for change. Whoever is ready to fight for a better Croatia, they are welcome to join us. We must fight for the changes that will lead young people to stay in Croatia. We are open for cooperation regardless of party differences, because Croatia is more important than any party. I congratulate MOST, which has achieved a very good result”, Karamarko said.
SDP president and current prime minister Zoran Milanović spoke shortly after midnight. “I would like to thank all the citizens. One thing is clear, and that is that Croatia has decided that there is no turning back. For four years, we have kept social peace. I invite all those who want reforms to join us. We can see that a political force, MOST, has appeared. We invite them to join us, not as leaders, but as partners. We want to serve our people and I invite all those of good faith to join us in discussions about the future of Croatia starting tomorrow”, Milanović said.
One of Milanović’s associates told the journalists that before he came to the election headquarters, Milanović visited another venue in the city, suggesting that the SDP president has already started talks about a possible post-election coalition. Milanović allegedly spent some time with the leaders of MOST, primarily with Drago Prgomet who has a major influence on other members. However, no one in party leadership wanted to confirm this information.
Božo Petrov, leader of MOST, also made a speech. “This is not the victory of any political party, Croats have shown that they care about changes in society. They gave us their confidence, responsibility, what we need to do. That is clear to everyone in the political arena. I also want to thank all the citizens in local government because those people are responsible for what happened. Without their trust and confidence, this could not have happened. We promise to everyone that we will not betray your trust, because we have a unique opportunity for a better future for Croatia. I believe that all the other politicians in other parties are aware of it. We went into this to make the changes happen and we will do our best to make it happen.”
Croatian president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović also commented on the results. “The results of the elections show that Croatia is a mature democracy. I want to congratulate everyone who entered the Parliament, as well as Patriotic Coalition, which is a relative winner of the election. I invite all those who are elected to Parliament to demonstrate their responsibility to the citizens who elected them and to put party interests aside. Together, we must continue to lead Croatia out of the crisis. In accordance with constitutional powers, I will act responsibly and I believe that we will, after consultation with the parties, soon have the new prime minister-designate”, the president said.
