Croatia gets third government led by pro-EU PM Plenkovic

18/5/2024 11:22

        The Croatian parliament on Friday approved a government dominated by the conservative pro-European HDZ party, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, marking his third term in the job following a parliamentary election last month.
        
        The long-ruling HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), which led the NATO member country of 3.8 million people to join the EU's Schengen free travel area and the euro zone last year, formed a coalition with the far-right Homeland Movement (DF). Homeland Movement will have three ministers in the 18-member government.
        
        Plenkovic told lawmakers presenting the government programme, "We want successful, vital, just, sustainable and sovereign Croatia." Of 141 present MPs, 79 voted for and 61 against the government, with one abstention.
        
        Anti-immigrant DF has campaigned on a platform of defending traditional family values and against allowing the minority Serb party to join any future coalition, raising fears that the new cabinet will be oriented more to the right.
        
        Analysts say, but under a coalition agreement between the two parties, the HDZ will keep its ministers of internal affairs and culture, which means that policies in key sectors concerning migrant policy and minority rights will not change.