A New Extreme Center in Croatia
Western liberal outlets acclaimed Social Democrat Zoran Milanović’s election as a victory for a “leftist” presidential candidate. But his campaign was mainly aimed at scooping up conservative votes — as all Croatian politics shift toward the radical right.
Newly elected president (and former prime minister) of Croatia Zoran Milanović arrives for the Informal Dinner of Heads of State or Government held at the Justus Lipsius Building on May 27, 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty
After five years of conservative government, Croatia went to the polls on January 5 to elect its new president. Somewhat unexpectedly, the winner turned out to be Zoran Milanović, former prime minister and the candidate of the main center-left party, the Social Democrats (SDP).
Western outlets such as the Guardian and Deutsche Welle responded very positively to the result, like Agence France-Press heralding Milanović’s victory as a clear win for the Left. Alas, the reality in Croatia is rather more complex — and less positive.
Not only are Milanović’s “leftist” credentials nonexistent — he is, in fact, an experienced neoliberal politician who plied his trade working for the bureaucracy of the European Union — but his narrow victory was mainly a consequence of the divisions within a growing and radicalizing right.
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