ZAGREB (Reuters) – The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Croatia’s ruling center-right, is preparing to win a parliamentary election on Sunday, held at a time of mounting coronavirus infections and a sharp economic recession due to the pandemic, showed a state television output survey.
Croatian Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenkovic casts his vote during the parliamentary elections, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Zagreb, Croatia, July 5, 2020. REUTERS / Antonio Bronic
It showed that HDZ was ready to win 61 of the 151 parliamentary seats, ahead of the main opposition party, the Social Democrats (SDP) and its smaller allies, which together won 44 seats.
Neither of the two main parties can form a government without entering a coalition.
The nationalist and eurosceptic bloc Domovinski Pokret (Movimiento de la Patria), led by the popular singer Miroslav Skoro, ranked third with 16 seats, while the conservative Most party (Bridge) and the left-wing Mozemo (Podemos) each won eight seats one.
The first preliminary official results are expected around 1900 GMT.
“In these difficult times, for both public health and the economy, Croatia deserves to be led by experienced and responsible people,” HDZ Prime Minister and leader Andrej Plenkovic told his followers this week.
By 1430 GMT, the share was 34.04%, somewhat lower than four years ago.
“My choice is (Miroslav) Skoro, as I think his party wants stability and to prevent young people from moving to look for work abroad,” said Ilija Grlic, a voter from the Zagreb area.
The new government will have an uphill task to control the coronavirus as it tries to restore the economy, which is expected to shrink by 10% this year. Tourism revenue is forecast to drop 70%.
Some analysts believe that the two largest parties may be forced to join forces, since the alternative of trying to form a stable government with smaller partners, such as Skoro’s Homeland or the conservative Most party, can be difficult.
Both Plenkovic and Davor Bernardic of the SDP have firmly rejected the idea of a “grand coalition”.
Croatia has reported a relatively small number of COVID-19 infections, a little over 3,000 cases and some 100 deaths so far, but infections have accelerated in the past two weeks, with a daily number of new cases reaching a maximum of about 80.
Igor Ilic’s reports; Edition of Ivana Sekularac and David Clarke
.
