Croatia’s Populist President Looks Set to Win Another Term

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has arguably ne'er been much powerful than he is today. In his 8 years successful office, he has steered Croatia distant from Russian power and aligned it squarely pinch its partners successful nan European Union and NATO. Compared to Croatia’s multiyear recession successful nan 2010s, he now presides complete 1 of nan highest GDP maturation rates successful nan EU. And successful April, contempt precocious ostentation and nan lingering effects of nan COVID-19 pandemic, Plenkovic bucked nan anti-incumbent inclination that has dominated voting successful 2024 by securing a 4th consecutive triumph successful parliamentary elections for his center-right party, nan Croatian Democratic Union, aliases HDZ, and its allied parties.

And yet, nan HDZ-backed campaigner successful Croatia’s statesmanlike election, nan first information of which takes of spot successful December, looks group to suffer to incumbent President Zoran Milanovic. A erstwhile premier curate himself, Milanovic reentered nan governmental sphere to tally successfully for his first word successful 2019. Since then, he has seemed wished to guarantee that Plenkovic is not nan only crippled successful town.

The 2 men could not beryllium much different. Milanovic’s populist nationalist entreaty has won him nan nickname “the Croatian Trump.” By contrast, Plenkovic has positioned himself arsenic an effective technocratic leader since coming to powerfulness successful 2016. To beryllium sure, Croatia has had its stock of tumult successful that time. In 2017, Agrokor, past nan country’s largest backstage institution and nan biggest employer successful nan Balkans, astir collapsed, which would person threatened Croatia’s full economy. It was only saved by authorities intervention. Then successful 2020, successful nan midst of nan pandemic, 2 earthquakes caused billions of dollars of damage. Subsequently, arsenic elsewhere, ostentation soared, prompting nan authorities to trim taxes connected nutrient and heating, while besides freezing nan value of energy and dozens of supermarket products.