Josipović and Čačić to Form a Coalition

A new political coalition in Croatian politics. 

President of the Forward Croatia – Progressive Alliance Party and former Croatian president Ivo Josipović will sign a coalition agreement for the upcoming parliamentary elections with Reformists led by Radimir Čačić. Although the media has for some time speculated about the creation of a new block on the left which will rival SDP, Josipović has so far refused to specifically name other potential partners of his party, reports Novi List on August 18, 2015.

Josipović showed his political closeness with Čačić while he was still the president, when he appeared at the inaugural meeting of the Reformists, who later in return supported his presidential re-election bid. Josipović’s candidacy was supported by other parties of the left and center-left as well, and was funded by his former party SDP, although the strained relations between Milanović and Josipović were obvious long before the campaign. Everything culminated after the election defeat, when Josipović said he does not intend to return to the former party because SDP is not ready for serious reforms. He accused SDP president and prime minister Zoran Milanović that he hurt his chances in the presidential campaign.

Although Josipović claims that he “does not want to be an obstructive element for SDP”, it is clear that Josipović will target the SDP electorate in the upcoming elections. He could be helped by another former SDP member, former finance minister Slavko Linić, who has announced that he will run as an independent candidate in the Rijeka constituency, while not ruling out the possibility of cooperating with some parties on the left. Linić sees his chances in the worsening relations within SDP in Rijeka and Istria, and has said that his interest is to “again strengthen the left block which Milanović is not able to do”.

Istrian party IDS has still not announced which coalition it will join. Josipović says he would be happy to cooperate with IDS and has confirmed that discussion are taking place, but emphasized that the decision is up to IDS. “All regional parties are close to us, pensioners as well, and there are some smaller parties which will join us in some way”, said Josipović refusing to specify whom he was talking about.

The media have for a while speculated that Josipović’s block could be joined by another former SDP member, the Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić and his newly established party Bandić Milan 365 – The Party of Labour and Solidarity, but Josipović’s party unofficially claims that they “are not on the same page with Bandić”. Primorje-Gorski Kotar Alliance is also often mentioned as one of Josipović’s possible coalition partners, but so far they haven’t commented on such speculation.

 

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