Nationalist support surges in Croatia elections

In a serious blow to Croatia’s new, pro-Western Government, the nationalist party of the late President Franjo Tudjman did much better than expected in yesterday’s local elections, leading in several counties and finishing second in Zagreb, the capital.

Partial results for 12 out of 21 counties, released by the state electoral commission late last night, showed Tudjman’s party leading in eight of them.

The vote was for seats in 21 county and 422 municipal councils, as well as 123 city halls.

Prime Minister Ivica Racan’s Social Democrats remained strong but did not score a hoped for overwhelming victory.

They won City Hall in Zagreb, home to a quarter of Croatia’s 4.7 million people, and at least two counties, according to the incomplete results.

But they placed second in many other counties and likely will form coalitions to eventually gain control of most local and regional Governments.

However, the strong showing of Tudjman’s and other nationalist parties could slow or hinder reforms on the national level as well.

Tudjman’s Croatian Democratic Union, which controls about a third of seats in parliament, could be emboldened by yesterday’s election result, oppose implementation of some reforms locally, organise protests and delay adoption of law in the national parliament.

‘‘Voters evidently are divided’’ between the reformers and the nationalists, said Ivan Siber, a political analyst.

A local Serb party won a majority in City Hall of the eastern city of Vukovar, which fell to rebel Serbs after a three-month siege and bombardment during the 1991 war, becoming a symbol of Serb wartime cruelty for most Croats.

The region returned to Croatian rule in 1995, but many Serbs remained there.

A year and a half after Racan’s coalition won parliamentary elections, Croats have grown disheartened by its failure to bring prosperity. Unemployment stands at 23%, the average monthly wage stagnates at HRK450 (£312), while prices of utilities and groceries have shot up.

The Croatian Democratic Union, better known as HDZ, apparently capitalised on the disillusionment of many citizens.

The nationalists also were ceaselessly lambasting the government’s prosecution of Croat war crimes a sensitive national issue in the country where many tend to believe that Serb rebels were the only perpetrators of the atrocities in the 1991 war and that Croats were the sole victims.

Even though many still associate the HDZ’s nine-year authoritarian rule with widespread corruption and cronyism among Tudjman’s friends and aides, a sizable number of Croats apparently still support it.

The party’s initial reaction was euphoric.

‘‘The voters realized that we were better’’ in running the country, said Joso Skara, one of the HDZ leaders.

Racan said his party’s rating remained high, claiming a strong HDZ opposition would be ‘‘a good challenge’’ for the governing coalition.

Yesterday’s election results could also have an impact on the ruling coalition: Racan’s main partners, the Social Liberals, fared poorly, while a junior partner, the People’s Party, boosted its standing.

A surprise for many was the 7% share in Zagreb’s City Hall of the new, nationalist party run by Tudjman’s son, Miroslav, while four parties of the ruling coalition did not even gain access to City Hall.

In Split, the second largest city which has recently emerged as a stronghold of nationalists, the vote was evenly divided between the pro-democratic parties and the nationalists.

Election observers reported no major irregularities.