NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Politics of Croatia

The Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska) is a parliamentary democracy with an elected president. It adopted its current constitution on December 22, 1990, and declared independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991. December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Official language none (1963â€“1974: Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, Croato-Serbian, Slovenian) Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Area (1991) - Total - % water Ranked xxst 255,804 kmÂ² Negligible Population - Total (2004) - Density Ranked xxth 20,522,972 80/kmÂ² Currency Yugoslav dinar Time zone - in summer CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The definition of a minority group can vary, depending on specific context, but generally refers to either a sub-group that does not form either a majority or a plurality of the total population, or a group that, while not necessarily a numerical minority, is disadvantaged or otherwise has less... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The semi-presidential system is a system of government that features both a prime minister and a president who are active participants in the day to day functioning of government. ... A parliamentary system, or parliamentarism, is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in Leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber. ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Executive branch

The main executive power of Croatian state is the government (in Croatian: "vlada"), presided by the Prime Minister. The government ministers (the cabinet) are appointed by the prime minister with the consent of the Parliament. The prime minister is the head of government, appointed by the President with the consent of the Parliament who takes his duty when Parliament gives its consent by absolute majority of all representatives. The President of Croatia is the head of state. ... Stjepan MesiÄ‡ (born December 24, 1934) has been the President of the Republic of Croatia since 2000. ... The Croatian Peoples Party _ Liberal Democrats (Croatian Hrvatska narodna stranka _ Liberalni Demokrati; HNS) a liberal party in Croatia. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... List of prime ministers/premiers in the Croatian Government Prime Minister is officially called President of the Government (Croatian: Predsjednik Vlade). ... Ivo Sanader (born June 8, 1953 in Split, Croatia) is the current Prime Minister of Croatia (President of the Government). ... The Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica, HDZ), is a Croatian political party. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Croatian Social Liberal Party (Croatian: Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka, HSLS) is a liberal party in Croatia. ... The Democratic Centre (Croatian: Demokratski centar, DC) is a Croatian political party. ... The Croatian Party of Pensioners (Croatian: Hrvatska Stranka Umirovljenika) is a Croatian political party. ... The Independent Democratic Serbian Party (Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS – Cyrillic: Самостална демократска српска странка) is a political party of Serbs living in Croatia. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the... An aerial view of Parliament of India at New Delhi. ...

Current government: Prime Minister: Ivo Sanader (since December 23, 2003);
Deputy Prime Ministers: Jadranka Kosor (since December 23, 2003), Damir Polančec (since February 2005).
Government ministers are from Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) except from one minister from Democratic Centre (DC). List of prime ministers/premiers in the Croatian Government Prime Minister is officially called President of the Government (Croatian: Predsjednik Vlade). ... Ivo Sanader (born June 8, 1953 in Split, Croatia) is the current Prime Minister of Croatia (President of the Government). ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica, HDZ), is a major Croatian political party. ... The Democratic Centre (Croatian: Demokratski centar, DC) is a Croatian political party. ...

The President of the Republic of Croatia is the head of state and is elected by popular vote for a 5-year term. A president may not serve more than two terms. The president has limited executive powers, he is still commander-of-chief of the armed forces, he cooperates in formulation and execution of the foreign policy and the national security policy, represents Croatia home and abroad, convenes Parliament and can bring issues at Government. Main and the most essential duty of the President is that he is granted power to issue decress with the force of law during war time. The President of Croatia is the head of state. ...

Legislative Branch

The Croatian legislature is the Hrvatski Sabor. The Assembly is unicameral, between 100 and 160 members, exact number was decided by the legislature - elected for a four year term, 140 members in multi-seat constituencies, up to 6 members chosen by proportional representation to represent Croatians residing abroad and 5 members of ethnic and national communities or minorities. The parliament of Croatia is called Hrvatski Sabor in Croatian - the word sabor means an assembly, a gathering, a congress. ... The parliament of Croatia is called Hrvatski Sabor in Croatian - the word sabor means an assembly, a gathering, a congress. ... A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... Proportional representation (PR) is a (by necessity multi-winner) electoral system whose use tends to make elections result in groups of votes being represented in proportional fractions in some body of representatives, i. ...

The Chamber of Counties or Županijski Dom used to be composed of three deputies from each of the 21 counties (županije). However, as it had no practical power over the Chamber of Representatives, in 2001, the Chamber was abolished and whatever powers it had were transferred directly to the county governments.

The Sabor meets in public sessions in two periods: January 15 to June 30, and September 15 to December 15. Extra sessions can be called by the President of the Republic, by the President of the Parliament or by Government. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution; passage of laws; adoption of the state budget; declarations of war and peace; alteration of the boundaries of the Republic; calling referenda; carrying out elections, appointments, and relief of office; supervising the work of the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible to the Sabor; and granting amnesty. January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Decisions are made based on a majority vote if more than half of the Chamber is present, except in cases of national rights and constitutional issues.

The last parliamentary elections were held November 23, 2003. November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Political parties and elections

Main article: Croatian presidential election, 2005 An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues. ... This article lists political parties in Croatia. ... See Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne. ... Elections in Croatia gives information on election and election results in Croatia. ... Stjepan MesiÄ‡ (born December 24, 1934) has been the President of the Republic of Croatia since 2000. ... The Croatian Peoples Party _ Liberal Democrats (Croatian Hrvatska narodna stranka _ Liberalni Demokrati; HNS) a liberal party in Croatia. ... Jadranka Kosor (left) greeting supporter in Dubrovnik. ... The Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica, HDZ), is a Croatian political party. ... Boris MikÅ¡iÄ‡ is a Croatian businessman and politician. ... ÄurÄ‘a AdleÅ¡iÄ‡ is a Croatian liberal politician. ... Croatian Social Liberal Party (Croatian: Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka, HSLS) is a liberal party in Croatia. ... Slaven Letica is a Croatian author, commentator and politician. ... The Croatian Party of Rights (Croatian Hrvatska Stranka Prava, HSP) is a right-wing political party in Croatia, the oldest in the country. ... Ljubo Ä†esiÄ‡, best known by his nickname Rojs, is a Croatian army officer and right-wing politician. ... IviÄ‡ PaÅ¡aliÄ‡ (b. ... Croatian Bloc (Croatian: Hrvatski blok, HB) is a right-wing political party in Croatia. ... Anto KovaÄeviÄ‡ is a Croatian right-wing politician. ... Croatian Christian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska kršćanska demokratska stranka, HKDU) is a right wing political party in Croatia. ... Miroslav BlaÅ¾eviÄ‡ (born February 10, 1935 in Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a famous Croatian football manager. ... Miroslav Rajh is Croatian politician. ... Doris Kosta (Doris KoÅ¡ta) is Croatian lawyer and politician from Split. ... Mladen KeÅ¡er is a Croatian politician. ... Tomislav Petrak is a Croatian politician. ... The Croatian Peasant Party (Croatian: Hrvatska seljačka stranka, HSS) was formed in 1905 by Stjepan Radić, a leading Croatian politician. ... The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005. ...

Main article: Croatian parliamentary election, 2003 The parliament of Croatia is called Hrvatski Sabor in Croatian - the word sabor means an assembly, a gathering, a congress. ... The Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica, HDZ), is a major Croatian political party. ... There are a large number of political parties named the Social Democratic Party. ... The Istrian Democratic Assembly (Croatian: Istarski Demokratski Sabor, Italian: Dieta Democratica Istriana) is a Croatian regional political party in Istria. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Croatian political parties ... This article is part of or related to the Liberalism series Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Croatian political parties ... The Croatian Peoples Party _ Liberal Democrats (Croatian Hrvatska narodna stranka _ Liberalni Demokrati; HNS) a liberal party in Croatia. ... The Alliance of Primorje - Gorski Kotar (Croatian: Primorsko goranski savez) is a Croatian regional political party of Primorsko-goranska County. ... Slavonia-Baranja Croatian Party (Croatian: Slavonsko-baranjska hrvatska stranka, SBHS)is a regional political party in Croatia. ... The Croatian Peasant Party (Croatian: Hrvatska seljačka stranka, HSS) was formed in 1905 by Stjepan Radić, a leading Croatian politician. ... The Croatian Party of Rights (Croatian Hrvatska Stranka Prava, HSP) is a right-wing political party in Croatia, the oldest in the country. ... Zagorje Democratic Party (Croatian: Zagorska demokratska stranka, ZDS) is regional political party from Krapina-Zagorje County of Croatia. ... The Međimurje Party (Međimurska stranka) is a regional political party in Croatia, formed in Međimurje. ... Croatian Social Liberal Party (Croatian: Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka, HSLS) is a liberal party in Croatia. ... The Democratic Centre (Croatian: Demokratski centar, DC) is a Croatian political party. ... The Croatian Party of Pensioners (Croatian: Hrvatska Stranka Umirovljenika) is a Croatian political party. ... The Independent Democratic Serbian Party (Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS – Cyrillic: Самостална демократска српска странка) is a political party of Serbs living in Croatia. ... The Croatian Democratic Peasants Party (Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Seljačka Stranka, HDSS) is a political party in Croatia. ... The Croatian Democratic Centre (Hrvatski demokratski centar) is a political party in Croatia. ... The Democratic Prigorje-Zagreb Party (Demokratska prigorsko-zagrebacka stranka) is a regional political party in Croatia. ... The Independent Democratic Serbian Party (Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS – Cyrillic: Самостална демократска српска странка) is a political party of Serbs living in Croatia. ... The Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia (Demokratska Zajednica Mađara Hrvatske) is a political party in Croatia, representing the Hungarian minority. ... The German People’s Union – National Association of Danubian Schwaben in Croatia (Njemačka narodnosna zajednica - Zemaljska udruga Podunavskih Švaba u Hrvatskoj) is a political party in Croatia, representing the German minority. ... The Party of Democratic Action of Croatia (Stranka demokratske akcije Hrvatske) is a political party that represents Bosniak ethnic minority in Croatia. ... Elections for the Croatian Parliament were held on November 23, 2003. ...

Judiciary branch

The Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud) of the Republic of Croatia is the highest court. Court hearings are open, and judgments are made publicly, except in issues of privacy of the accused. Judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council and judicial office is permanent (until seventy years of age). President of the Supreme Court is elected on 4-year term by the Croatian Parliament at the proposal of the President of the Republic. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Vrhovni Sud Republike Hrvatske) is a highest court and it ensures the uniform application of laws and equal justice to all. ...

The Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud) of the Republic of Croatia decides on the constitutionality of laws and has the right to repeal a law it finds unconstitutional. It also can impeach the president. The body is made up of thirteen judges on 8-year term. The president of the Constitutional Court is elected by the court for a 4-year term. Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) is not considered as part of the judicial branch but the Court sui generis. ...

The National Judicial Council (Državno Sudbeno Vijeće) of the Republic appoints all judges. It is a body consisting of a president and fourteen members proposed and elected by the Parliament for 4-year terms, maximum two terms.

Regional government

The country is composed of 20 counties (županijas) and one city (grad, Zagreb). The counties and county centers are: Image File history File links Wikinews-logo. ... Wikinews is a free content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Zagreb (pronounced: ) is the capital city of Croatia. ...

Counties are regional self-government units that carry out the affairs of regional significance, and in particular the affairs related to education, health service, area and urban planning, economic development, traffic and traffic infrastructure and the development of network of educational, health, social and cultural institutions. Zagreb county - Zagrebačka županija Named after the city of Zagreb, this Croatian county is very historic: its center, the city of Samobor has existed since 1242, and was one of the first tourist resorts in the region. ... Categories: Stub | Counties of Croatia ... Categories: Stub | Counties of Croatia ... Categories: Stub | Counties of Croatia ... The Varaždin county of Croatia - Varaždinska županija is county in north-west Croatia, near the border with Slovenia and Hungary and is named after its centre, the city of Varaždin. ... Categories: Croatian geography stubs | Counties of Croatia ... Categories: Croatian geography stubs | Counties of Croatia ... Primorje-Gorski Kotar county - Primorsko-goranska županija is a Croatian county that includes the Bay of Kvarner and the surrounding Northern Croatian seacoast, and the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar. ... Lika-Senj county - Ličko-senjska županija includes the Lika region of Croatia and some northern coastline of the Adriatic near the town of Senj, including the northern part of the Pag island. ... Virovitica-Podravina county - Virovitičko-podravska županija is a northern Slavonian county in Croatia. ... Požega-Slavonia county, or Požeško-slavonska županija, is a Croatian county in central Slavonia. ... Categories: Croatian geography stubs | Counties of Croatia ... Zadar county - Zadarska županija is a county in Croatia, it encompasses northern Dalmatia and southeastern Lika. ... Šibenik-Knin county - Šibensko-kninska županija is a north-central Dalmatian county in Croatia. ... Vukovar-Srijem county - Vukovarsko-srijemska županija is the easternmost Croatian county which includes southeastern parts of Slavonia, western parts of Srijem, and the lower Sava river basin (Posavina). ... Split-Dalmatia county - Splitsko-dalmatinska županija is the central-southern Dalmatian county in Croatia. ... Istria county - Istarska županija / Regione istriana is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula (2820 out of 3160 km²; Istra in Croatian and Slovenian). ... Dubrovnik-Neretva county - Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija is the southernmost Croatian and Dalmatian county. ... Medjimurje (Međimurska županija, Muraköz in Hungarian) is a triangle-shaped county in the northernmost part of Croatia. ... Zagreb (pronounced: ) is the capital city of Croatia. ...

In practice, this autonomy is very limited since counties must obbey national laws and executive orders from the national level.

Municipalities and towns are local self-government units that carry out the affairs of local jurisdiction by which the needs of citizens are directly fulfilled, and in particular the affairs related to the organization of localities and housing, area and urban planning, public utilities, child care, social welfare, primary health services, education and elementary schools, culture, physical education and sports, customer protection, protection and improvement of the environment, fire protection and civil defense.

Short political history

The Croatian Communist Party was the only party during socialist Yugoslavia, 1945-1990. The change of the name to League of Communists of Croatia (Savez Komunista Hrvatske, SKH) in the fifties was intended to emphasize the advisory role of the party, while actual power was supposed to be in hands of the working class. There were very few controversies and factional clashes in the SKH. Among the most important was the so called "Croatian Spring" in 1971 when some leaders of the SKH, most notably Savka Dabčević-Kučar and Miko Tripalo attempted to increase the political and economical independence of Croatia from other Yugoslav republics. Although "Croatian Spring" was broken, the leaders lost their political position and were forced into isolation, and less important leaders were persecuted, practically all the intentions of the mentioned national leaders were accepted and introduced in Yugoslavian constitution from 1974. Croatian Communist Party (Croatian KomunistiÄka Partija Hrvatske, KPH) also known as the Croatian League of Communists (Croatian Savez Komunista Hrvatske, SKH) was the Croatian branch of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ). ... Official language none (1963â€“1974: Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, Croato-Serbian, Slovenian) Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Area (1991) - Total - % water Ranked xxst 255,804 kmÂ² Negligible Population - Total (2004) - Density Ranked xxth 20,522,972 80/kmÂ² Currency Yugoslav dinar Time zone - in summer CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2... The Croatian Spring (Hrvatsko proljeÄ‡e, also called masovni pokret or MASPOK, for mass movement) was a political movement from the early 1970s that called for greater rights for Croatia which was then part of Yugoslavia. ... Savka DabÄeviÄ‡-KuÄar was a Croatian and Yugoslav politician. ... Ante Miko Tripalo was a Croatian and Yugoslav politician. ...

That constitution was relatively unfortunate in a sense that it did not delimit the responsibilities of the republics and federation in Yugoslavia clearly. As a result, when League of Communists lost its unity and authority, and republics started to make opposite, even aggressive political movements, the central government of Yugoslavia was unable to act. As a result, neither a peaceful break up, nor a military putsch was possible in the time of crisis, and country ended in bloody, tragic war.

In the situation where Serb leaders, especially members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević started to threaten Croatia and prepare for a war, the first multi-party elections took place in 1990. The League of Communists changed its policy and name to the "Party of Democratic Changes" (SDP), however, the impression of the people was that this party could not respond to Milošević's threats adequately. The right-wing was represented by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), led by the communist general, later Croatian nationalist and dissident Franjo Tuđman. Slobodan MiloÅ¡eviÄ‡, on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, The Hague Slobodan MiloÅ¡eviÄ‡ â–¶ (helpÂ· info) (Serbian: Ð¡Ð»Ð¾Ð±Ð¾Ð´Ð°Ð½ ÐœÐ¸Ð»Ð¾ÑˆÐµÐ²Ð¸Ñ›, pronounced []; born 20 August 1941) is a former President of Serbia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as well as leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia. ... The Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica, HDZ), is a major Croatian political party. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

Third bloc at the elections was Coalition of People's Accord, alliance of mostly moderate nationalist parties that included Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Social Democrats of Croatia (SDSH), Croatian Democratic Party (HDS), as well as many prominent veterans of Croatian Spring. Due to voting system that favoured two strong parties, coalition got surprisingly few seats during that election, and HDZ won easily. Croatian Social Liberal Party (Croatian: Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka, HSLS) is a liberal party in Croatia. ... Social Democrats of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokrati Hrvatske, SDH) is a now defunct left-wing political party in Croatia. ... Croatian Democratic Party (Croatian: Hrvatska demokratska stranka, HDS) is now defunct right-wing party in Croatia. ... Announcement of elections in Brunate (near Como), Italy A voting system is a process that allows a group of individuals to choose between a number of options, and determines the preferred or winning option based on the number of votes each option receives. ...

However, increased crime in all parts of the society and a growing personal cult of Franjo Tuđman caused revival of the popularity of the at one moment almost dead ex-communist party. Vujić's SDSH united with SDP. HSLS split into two parties, led by their charismatic leaders: Vlado Gotovac's Liberal Party, and the more nationalist Dražen Budiša won administrative control over HSLS. In following years, these two leaders, especially Budisa led inconsistent policy which resulted in a significant drop in support for the once third most important party in Croatia. D. Budisa even left the party at one point, but he was persuaded to return. The Liberal Party (Croatian Liberalna stranka, LS) is a liberal party in Croatia. ... DraÅ¾en BudiÅ¡a (born July 25, 1948 in DrniÅ¡) is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the early 1990s. ...

For the 2000 elections, the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) and the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) agreed on a join electoral list as did the Croatian Peasants Party (HSS), Croatian People's Party (HNS), Liberal Party of Croatia (LS), and Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS). Although these six parties went into the election under two separate lists they had negotiated an outline agreement for a coalition before the election and were known as the "šestorica" or "the six". The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokratska Partija Hrvatske) is the main social democratic political party in Croatia. ... Croatian Social Liberal Party (Croatian: Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka, HSLS) is a liberal party in Croatia. ... The Croatian Peasant Party (Croatian: Hrvatska seljačka stranka, HSS) was formed in 1905 by Stjepan Radić, a leading Croatian politician. ... The Croatian Peoples Party _ Liberal Democrats (Croatian Hrvatska narodna stranka _ Liberalni Demokrati; HNS) a liberal party in Croatia. ... This article is part of or related to the Liberalism series Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Croatian political parties ... The Istrian Democratic Assembly (Croatian: Istarski Demokratski Sabor, Italian: Dieta Democratica Istriana) is a Croatian regional political party in Istria. ...

The six-party center-left coalition was in power until June 2001 when IDS left the governing coalition over its inability to win greater autonomy for Istria.

HSLS split (again; the initial splitoff formed LS) in 2002; the main faction left the government while a dissenting faction formed LIBRA and stayed in power.

The SDP-led coalition remained in power until the legislative elections of 2003, when they narrowly lost the majority to HDZ and other center-right parties. Elections for the Croatian Parliament were held on November 23, 2003. ...

HDZ formed a government in December 2003, even though they haven't formed a major coalition with parties like HSS and HSP. It appears, however, that the new HDZ, under the leadership of I. Sanader, is positioned significantly more on the center than early HDZ was. The Croatian Party of Rights (Croatian Hrvatska Stranka Prava, HSP) is a right-wing political party in Croatia, the oldest in the country. ...

Accession to membership of the European Union is presently a stated national goal for most mainstream parties, although they vary in the amount of cooperation with the EU rules. The main issues remain in the areas of post-war recovery: both political (refugee return, war crime trials) and economic (agricultural import/export policy).

One of the more recent trends in Croatian politics is deep alienation of Croatian public from Croatian political establishment. It manifested itself on the latest presidential and local elections through record low turnouts and support for candidates and options that represented alternative to Croatian political mainstream.

One of the stated reasons for such alienation is in mainstream political parties being oriented towards centre and having almost identical platforms. Another is parties being heavily centralised and perceived more as representatives of their leaders' personal interests than any palpable political platform. Proportional representation voting system which leads to coalition governments that often don't make any political sense - a phenomenon which gained a lot of notoriety after 2005 local elections - also contributed to those trends. Croatian public appears to prefer strong personalities with populist tendencies - like Boris Mikšić, Milan Bandić and Branimir Glavaš - to well-established parties or any particular ideology. Proportional representation (PR) is a (by necessity multi-winner) electoral system whose use tends to make elections result in groups of votes being represented in proportional fractions in some body of representatives, i. ... Boris MikÅ¡iÄ‡ is a Croatian businessman and politician. ... Milan BandiÄ‡ Milan BandiÄ‡ (b. ... Branimir GlavaÅ¡ is a Croatian right-wing politician from Osijek. ...

The alienation from Croatian political mainstream has also manifested itself in the dramatic rise of Euroscepticism among general public. Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a wish to preserve national sovereignty. ...

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