PARTIES BEGIN PREP-WORK FOR 2009 LOCAL ELECTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ZAGREB 000005 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV HR SUBJECT: PARTIES BEGIN PREP-WORK FOR 2009 LOCAL ELECTIONS REF: ZAGREB 000953 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) While active campaigning for local elections is not expected until early Spring, political parties across Croatia's political spectrum have begun jockeying for position and adjusting party strategies to a new law on local elections. This political maneuvering primarily entails announcing candidates, negotiating pre-election partnerships for joint tickets, and lobbying Zagreb for cash in the 2009 budget. The new system, including for the first time the direct election of mayors, will provide citizens more of a voice in local governance and may test the strength of the current coalition government at the national level. END SUMMARY New Local Election Process Improves Accountability -------------- ¶2. (U) In late 2007 the Croatian Parliament passed a package of legislation providing for direct election of mayors, county prefects (zupans),and their deputies. Previously, these officials have been chosen by the elected members of the local councils or assemblies. In addition to the direct election of these officials, the new law obligates candidates to declare the amounts and sources of their campaign funding, and bans contributions from public institutions, state-owned companies and foreign entities. The new system stipulates that potential candidates must collect voters' signatures for their nominations, ranging from 50 in small municipalities to 5,000 in the city of Zagreb. The elections will be held on May 17, 2009, but if no party ticket -- mayor and deputies or county prefect and deputies -- wins an outright majority of votes, then there will be a runoff election between the top two party slates two weeks later. What Local Elections Will Mean for the Political Scene -------------- ¶3. (U) The new law means these elections will require a more personal touch from candidates. Gone are the days when parties could run a slate of candidates headed by prominent party officials, a prime minister for example, with no expectation that head of the party slate would actually assume a position in the local government. Because of this, local elections will be less of a referendum on the ruling national coalition, but a bigger test of party infrastructure. Additionally, the largest opposition parties -- the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Croatian People's Party (HNS) -- operating without the burden of managing ministries can use some of their most notable parliamentarians to run for mayors or county prefects. Campaigns can be expected to focus on the economy -- creating jobs, raising wages, and attracting investment to localities -- even though many aspects of these issues are managed out of Zagreb. Mayors and county prefects that have established track records for good management of the economy are likely to have an edge, as will candidates who are also members of the national parliament (Sabor),which is typically viewed as advantage an lobbying for discretionary funds. HDZ's Coalition Strategy for Local Elections is Critical -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In general, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) hopes to recreate its national coalition at the local level by luring local branches of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) into coalitions. HDZ party officials publicly state that they have assurances of forming this coalition in nearly 90 percent of the municipalities, districts and counties. The smaller two coalition partners, however, have preferred to keep their options open in several key races. This is particularly the case for the HSS, which is currently in local coalitions with parties other than the HDZ in several locales. This public caginess was re-enforced in a private meeting with former HSS General Secretary and current HSS member of parliament Stanko Grcic, who noted that despite overtures for the HDZ and the personal animosity between HSS leader Josip Friscic and SDP leader Zoran Milanovic, local branches would be free to make coalitions deals as they saw fit. Grcic noted that the HSS currently has more local coalition deals with the SDP than with the HDZ, and argued that this was an accurate representation of HSS supporters' political feelings towards the two main parties. SDP Plans to Focus Their Campaigns and Build Upon Past Success -------------- ZAGREB 00000005 002 OF 003 ¶5. (SBU) The SDP plans to build upon its strength in urban areas, where it already controls the governments of Croatia's first and third largest cities, Zagreb and Rijeka, and hopes to add control of the second largest, Split. In the 2005 local elections, the SDP won a plurality of seats in the Split city council, only to be outmaneuvered by the HDZ in forming a majority coalition, resulting in an HDZ mayor. Arsen Bauk, young SDP parliamentarian and party strategist, told PolOff that the SDP has spent considerable time studying the pre-election polling, exit polling, and electoral results from the last general election, and have devised a more targeted campaign strategy for local elections that will allow them to focus their spending on districts and counties where they can energize their base and sway the outcome. Figuring into this strategy will surely be the HDZ's inability to deliver on most of its past campaign promises -- 7 percent GDP growth, 7 percent capital investments, and unemployment of 7 percent. The Big Prizes -------------- ¶6. (U) Zagreb: The SDP's to Lose: Croatia's capital will see the SDP's powerful Milan Bandic most likely facing a relatively unknown HDZ candidate, Jasen Mesic, and possibly some smaller party candidates. Bandic, with a strong SDP base to cultivate and a city whose fortunes have largely risen as Croatia makes steady progress toward the EU, will be tough to beat. His one vulnerability is in lingering allegations of corruption and insider dealing within the city government. While many SDP supporters cringe at the authoritarian, and at times secretive, manner in which Bandic runs the city, Zagreb represents a source of strength for the party and showcases the SDP's ability to govern successfully. The HDZ's strategy is to court the HSLS and HSS to support the HDZ candidate and cultivate as much anti-Bandic spirit as possible. ¶7. (U) Split: The Independent Candidate Could Surprise Split may see the most dramatic changes in its governance due to the changes in the election law. The current coalition government is a good example of the murkiness that can result from the old election system, as it is largely the result of back-room business deals. The SDP and HNS have joined forces in Split in backing high ranking SDP member Ranko Ostojic for mayor, with SDP and HNS figures in the two deputy slots. The HDZ is rumored to be nominating incumbent Ivan Kuret for mayor, but no announcement has been made as the HDZ attempts to court other parties to support the ticket. Complicating the picture is the likely candidacy of local business magnate Zeljko Kerum, owner of a popular retail and supermarket chain, as an independent, as well as a possible run by well-known former mayor and ex-HSLS member Nikola Grabic. Rijeka: Even with Help the HDZ is Unlikely to Prevail ¶8. (U) The SDP and its local partner the Istrian Democratic Party are backing long-time mayor and SDP heavyweight Vojko Obersnel for mayor. Obersnel's candidacy, already strong in this social-democratic stronghold, would seem all but assured if the local SDP branch can lure in the support of the local HSS and HSLS chapters. The HDZ was rumored to support the director of the Rijeka Port Authority, Bojan Hlaca, for mayor, but the HDZ has been scrambling at the national level to find a way to salvage the prospects for Rijeka's May 3rd shipyard. The shipbuilder lumbers under the cloud of potential bankruptcy and closing of its doors by mid-2009, which could further sour many Rijeka voters on the HDZ. Other Notable Municipal Races -------------- ¶9. (U) Osijek: Rightwing Heavyweights Face Off Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) leader Anto Djapic announced on December 5 that he is seeking his party's backing to run for mayor of Osijek, setting the stage for the clash of rightist ideologues in the city with Croatia's least attractive cast of local politicians. Leader of the rival right-wing party HDSSB Branimir Glavas, currently on trial for war crimes, has already announced his candidacy. Djapic's HSP has been courting HDZ support by offering to back their candidate for county prefect. Glavas for his part is hoping to retain the support of the HSS, which is currently in coalition with the HDSSB in the district government. ¶10. (U) Varazdin: HSLS Set to Keep the Mayorship; County Prefect Up for Grabs The HSLS party's national vice president, Ivan Cehok, looks poised to win re-election as mayor of Varazdin. HDZ support for Cehok is a key pre-condition to gaining the HSLS's support for HDZ candidates in other areas of the country. ZAGREB 00000005 003 OF 003 Coalition combinations will also be critical in determining the outcome of the country prefect race. If the HDZ, HSS, and HSLS combine on a joint ticket, past election results suggest that they should both control a majority of county assembly and win the county prefect race. ¶11. (U) Dubrovnik: Tourist Town Should Remain in HDZ Hands In Dubrovnik, the SDP and HNS will also partner together and have backed former minister of health and current director of the city hospital, HNS member Andro Vlahusic, with the SDP's local leader in a deputy-mayor slot. The two opposition parties have been courting the support of the local HSLS chapter, which is rumored to be sympathetic to Vlahusic's candidacy. However, some pressure is expected to be brought from the Zagreb for the local HSLS branch to reconsider its stance. Two-term HDZ mayor Dubravka Suica sometimes faces criticism for her less-than transparent business deals that tend to go to associates or other party-friendly figures, and is probably facing her toughest election fight to date. But Suica can also campaign on the city's recent economic development, as well as her efforts to preserve the city's unique cultural identity. COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (SBU) These local elections will provide another test of the strength and resiliency for many of the smaller parties in Croatia, which across the political spectrum all suffered electoral setbacks to the benefit of the of the two largest parties -- the HDZ and the SDP -- in the last general election. The direct election of mayors, prefects and their deputies, and the requirement that victors win an absolute majority of votes cast, is likely to cement the growing dominance of the two major parties in Croatian politics. Slowing economic growth and a somber public mood should provide the opposition SDP with an opportunity to expand its base beyond the major urban centers and into other areas where voters may be interested in sending the ruling HDZ a message. But the HDZ may still be able to stem its losses if it is able to recruit support from smaller parties. END COMMENT BRADTKE