HDZ Disappearing from the Croatian Political Scene

Aim Zagreb, March 29, 2000

Only three months after the death of the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and two and a half months after HDZ's evastating defeat at parliamentary elections of January 3, the party that had absolutely dominated the political scene for ten years is today, as Hrvoje Sarinic, one of Tudjman's closest associates for many years, would figuratively put it " a pile of snow melting on the road". On bad terms and at odds, HDZ members have started taking the party apart which is coming apart at all seams. What no one dared admit during Tudjman's life has now proved to be true: HDZ is deeply divided and it was only Tudjman's authority and mutual interests in sharing "the sweet pie of power" that kept it together.

With Tudjman's departure and loss of power, HDZ has simply started falling apart. Dr Mate Granic, Tudjman's Foreign Minister for many years, and Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, one of his closest associates, deputy chief of his cabinet, incidentally both HDZ Vice-Presidents, were first to leave this hopelessly disunited party. They founded the Croatian Democratic Centre (HDC), and soon changed its name into Democratic Centre(DC) in fear that the party's acronym - HDC - might resemble that of HDZ. They placed their party in the centre announcing it as a Christian and populist, pro-European, a party that will, in contrast to HDZ, respect human rights and uphold the rule of law.

Granic had plenty of reasons for leaving HDZ: although all public opinion surveys before Presidential elections in Croatia showed that he was the most popular HDZ politician by far, he barely managed to secure his party's nomination. Insatiably ambitious Vladimir Seks, HDZ's hawk and during Tudjman "always No.2" (Seks was for many years the HDZ Vice-President, Vice-President of Parliament, and for a while Vice Prime Minister of the Government), who saw himself as the new Croatian President, fought for his party's nomination to the last minute although surveys gave him little chance.

Dr Zvonimir Separovic, former Justice Minister, although a HDZ member, decided to run for president and attacked no other but Granic. Under such circumstances, although he made a radical move during presidential race when he froze his HDZ membership and announced that the would leave the party if he won, Granic was unable to do more than he did - came out third in the first electoral round. After all that had happened, it was quite logical that he would leave the party.

Founding of DC, which three members of Parliament (all three from the Chamber of Districts) soon joined, as well as names of those who sided with it represented a harsh blow to the already shaken HDZ. Vladimir Seks threatened Vesna Skare Ozbolt and Mate Granic that he would make their life, both political and private, unbearable. By leaving HDZ Granic and Skare Ozbolt have deprived HDZ of the status of individually most numerous parliamentary party which, after the loss of power, was the only consolation to the crushingly defeated Croatian Democratic Union. Very soon, Dr Zarko Domljan, one of the HDZ founders and first President of Parliament, and Hrvoje Sarinic, long-standing Chief of President Tudjman's Cabinet and at that time informally the second man in the state, soon joined DC.

It is particularly interesting that at lower levels a large share of party youth - the so called HDZ Youth - joined DC, while the interest for joining this party, albeit careful, was also shown by moderates like Nikica Valentic, Pavle Miljavec, Zlatko Matesa and Franjo Greguric.

They are still assessing the situation and waiting for the HDZ May General Convention which should, allegedly, purge the ranks and set a new HDZ strategy, free of all negative traits which is the reason why HDZ lost power.

However, events within the HDZ give little hope that this party, or better said what is left of it, will live to see its General Convention. After he secured for himself a function that the HDZ Statute does not recognise at all, Seks, acting President of the Party, started putting the house in order and first dismissed Ivica Ropusa from the position of the spokesman for the Party and then removed once powerful Zlatko Canjuga, Party Vice-President, from all party functions. Although they were secretly passionately at war even during Tudjman's life, Seks formed an alliance with his until yesterday's bitter enemy Ivic Pasalic, former President's internal policy advisor and one of the most powerful people in Tudjman's power structure.

In order to secure Pasalic's support for his candidacy for HDZ President, Seks did everything he could to secure the function of Vice-President in the Croatian State Parliament for Pasalic. This trade made Drago Krpina mad because he was cheek by jowl with Seks until that time. In protest, Krpina resigned as Secretary General of the party and is now writing a book about the reasons for HDZ's defeat.

However, Seks' dealings with Pasalic - at least according to acting HDZ President - cost him political alliance with Branimir Glavas, Prefect of the Osijek-Baranja District who considers himself the HDZ founder and a part of its "original nucleus". Together with Vinko Golem, Petar Sale, Josip Bobetko and other members of hard-line right HDZ stream, he established the HDZ Founders' Club and named it after Dr Franjo Tudjman. Although the HDZ Statute allows this possibility, the work of that club and its messages clearly show that it is a strong faction which is openly trying to take over the power in the party.

At the head of their club/faction, Glavas and his men wanted to place Dr Andrija Hebrang, a long-standing Minister of Health and then of Defence and chief of Tudjman's medical consultation team and, until his break up with the late Croatian President - person of his greatest trust. However, although still power-hungry, Hebrang realised that if Glavas and his group win the upper hand in HDZ it stands no chance at the political stage of Croatia because this was an arrogant, anti-European and deeply undemocratic force within HDZ without any prospects of attracting major part of the electorate.

The last week's meeting of the HDZ Founders' Club, which Seks also came to, together with the new Party Secretary General Josa Skare, ended with an incident. Glavas, Djuro Perica and other hard liners used harsh words in their attack on Seks and his policy. It is hardly likely that after this the current flock of HDZ sheep gathered around Seks can remain in the same party with Glavas and his assault troopers. Being totally opposed, deeply divided and at odds, they will most probably split into two parties, quite possibly even before the General Convention scheduled for May.

What will then happen to the "moderates" like Matesa, Miljavec, Valentic and others? It is possible that they will side with Granic, or perhaps join some other party, form their own new party or even proclaim themselves independent representatives and slowly disappear from the political scene.

The fate of HDZ, whatever it may be, quite certainly does not lie with one party and the powerful Tudjman's movement, after the demise of its leader, has disintegrated and everyone has gone his separate way. The disintegration of the party has continued at the grassroots level, in district and communal organisations, depending on the official that had greatest influence in that specific organisation. Public opinion surveys now give HDZ less than 10 percent of followers so that it could be said that it no longer represents a serious political force in Croatia. What will last and be remembered longer than this party and its leaders, is undoubtedly the immeasurable damage it has caused the Croatian people, robbing it and making Croatia repulsive to Europe and the entire democratic world.

Drago Hedl