Local Elections 2005 Update: Spin Has Begun

When asked by HRT to comment on local elections, prime minister Ivo Sanader said that HDZ won. He didn’t smile, although sound of his voice expressed same certainty as during interviews when he had expressed firm belief in March 17^th 2005 as the start of accession negotiations with EU.

Mantra about victory was repeated by all party leaders, each of them having at least one county, municipality or city where a gain of a percentage or a seat could be interpreted as earth-shattering triumph.

On the other hand, when Croatia is taken as a whole, political landscape didn’t change very much. HDZ lost in big cities, but urban areas are weak spot for Tudjman’s party for almost than a decade, following Zagreb Crisis. Rural and war-torn areas – Dalmatia and Slavonia – are still conservative, right-wing and prone for voting HDZ.

Yet, it seems that HDZ did lose some of its support, mostly to various right-wing and far right parties.

Dražen Lalić (Drazen Lalic), commenting for RTL Televizija, summed everything up in three points.

First, the election is marked by record low turnout. In Split only 29 % of people bothered to vote. People feel alienated from political establishment and politics in general. Democracy doesn’t seem to be the thing Croatians are proud of.

Second, those who bothered to vote expressed their dissatisfaction with establishment by voting for independent candidates.

Third, both HDZ and SDP lost votes, while the second-tier parties, like HSP and HSU fared very well. while the second-tier parties, like HNgeneral. Democracy doesn'ry disturbing trend. If opehere a ga

The real winners of the elections can be established only after a month or so when parties start forming governing coalitions. HDZ, which used to run one-party governments in so many cities and counties will have to seek partners.

There are some interesting results. In City of Knin, for the first time after Operation Storm, Serb ethnic party SDSS has relative majority.   

There is very baffling news coming from Split-Dalmatian County– probably result of bad sampling. SDP and its allies have overtaken HDZ in a county known as a bastion of HDZ and Croatian Right.

 

HDZ is on the verge of losing – for the first time since 1990 – Sisak-Moslavina County.