It’s been quite clear in my articles during the past twenty-three years, since the former communists took over the government in Croatia and then the Croatian Democratic Union/HDZ and Social Democratic Party/SDP alternated between themselves after every or every second four-year mandate, that political tragicomedy would suffocate any true rule of law and democracy. With that being the case, any caring political analyst or commentator must have surely in his or her mind visualised the personification of that political situation as some constant spinning-top toy we see toddlers playing with. Ending up with disbelief, vertigo, disappointment – screaming for help.

During those two decades and particularly in the past four years, the sessions in the Croatian Parliament resembled more a chicken coop in a wire cage placed at the centre of a circus tent.  Throughout this time HDZ has, particularly during the past decade when Croatia became an EU member state, oscillated, and reinvented itself on the political spectrum from modern European centre-right to hard-line populist, growing in its autocratic nature and aggressive dismissal of opinions that criticised its work. SDP has been no better as it too oscillated and reinvented itself as pro-European while pandering to Russian communist back, becoming increasingly ‘progressive’ and leftist to the extreme. This especially so after it booted out in 2016 its party president (and former Prime Minister) Zoran Milanovic (current President of the country) with distressed trumpet calls of vote of no confidence as he failed to form a government.

In the climate heavily lined with parliamentary chamber rows and runaway insults between the government and opposition party representatives, as well as the media, nail-biting anticipation of triple-election was increasingly looming in Croatia. Anticipation of elections for Members of Croatian Parliament, for Members of European Parliament, and Presidential. As in a whirlwind, on 14 March 2024 Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic rushed in with his announcement for the dissolution of the parliament that would occur on 22 March 2024 (somewhat earlier than expected). Croatia’s president, on March 15 announced that general elections will be held in Croatia on Wednesday 17 April and in the so-called 11^th Constituency for Croats abroad on 16^th and 17^th April, announcing a non-working day for Croatia and ignoring the needs of some 1 million voters living abroad who will not be eligible for a work-free day under the laws of countries they live. Equality of voting rights guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution – once again is thrown in the sewer!  According to the information at hand this is the first time in 23 years that general elections will occur on a weekday, instead of Sunday!

 As Plenkovic thus may have thought he was in control and confident of a win (with around 28% popularity survey!), accentuating his government’s successes (mainly those paid for by non-refundable EU money – that would come to Croatia regardless of who is in government), the push to overshadow SDP was evident. But one certainly cannot use the word “monotonous” or “boring” to describe Croatia’s mainstream political landscape – low and behold Milanovic stole the electoral “limelight” from Plenkovic! Just hours after announcing the general election dates, Milanovic dumped a political bomb that he would run as a candidate for SDP at parliamentary elections as a candidate for prime ministerial job; if SDP wins the elections, of course, and that he would resign as country’s president after the electoral win and in the meantime he would hold onto his job as President which, by the way, reportedly bans any activities with or for a political party!

Couple of days later, on 18 March 2024, Croatia’s Constitutional Court barred him from running in the elections as candidate until his presidential term ends in February 2025 or resign as president if he wished to run for parliamentary elections.

You can’t make this stuff up!

But then again, considering that Plenkovic as Prime Minister and Milanovic as President have been at loggerheads throughout their mandates, slinging insults at each other, undermining each other’s official roles and jurisdictions, perhaps this tragicomedy was the inevitable product of huge egos locking horns days in and days out.

On Friday, 15 March, HDZ party taunted Milanovic in a tweet “Milanović only motivated us to beat him and his SDP for the 3rd time! President @AndrejPlenkovic: “17. April is World Circus Day. And to make the circus even bigger, Milanović decided to go to the elections with #SDP”, saying his announcement had “motivated us to beat him and his SDP for the third time. Plenkovic added: “April 17 is World Circus Day. And to make the circus even bigger, Milanovic decided to join the elections with SDP.”    

It’s a shame there is no tweet talking about the circus of HDZ government doing nothing on ensuring that the human right of suffrage is enjoyed by Croatian citizens living abroad as it is by those living in Croatia as prescribed by the country’s Constitution.

This tragicomedy HDZ and SDP have created must be wound down, packed away and tossed into a bottomless abyss together with the symbols of former communist Yugoslavia! It is a situation of intolerable incompetence, arrogance, and disdain where nobody except those singing to their tunes can advance in life and profession on basis of merit.

There are over 170 registered political parties in Croatia. In the week beginning 25 March 2024, once the electoral commission published lists of candidates, we shall know which will be running for parliament.  Given that Milanovic has implied in his public appearance that he will continue with his plans for participating as candidate at parliamentary elections, seemingly in defiance of the abovesaid Constitutional Court’s decision, and given his 19 March Facebook cryptic message “Rivers of justice are coming” (reminding us of a hit song celebrating Josip Broz Tito during communist Yugoslavia, 1985, “Rivers of Justice”), unless both HDZ and SDP lose at the election so much that they cannot form even a minority government, the Croatian people are facing a grim future of more political circus and “rivers” that will erase almost everything they bled for – democracy with the rule of law while living standards erode further. The level of bad and twisted to which the president, prime minister and many politicians in Croatia have sunk to has reached rock bottom. The Croatian people deserve much better! I hope that the meaning in the phrase used “Rivers of justice are coming” will mean finally justice for the Croatian people and for what they fought for and died for in the 1990’s Homeland War – no more HDZ or SDP leading the government. At least for a decade thank you! Ina Vukic