Croatia vote ends in stalemate

The two main political camps in Croatia are neck and neck in exit polls on Sunday (8 November), in the country’ first parliamentary election since joining the EU in 2013.

According to polls by Nova TV, both the left-wing SDP coalition, led by prime minister Zoran Milanovic i, and the conservative HDZ, led by former intelligence chief Tomislav Karamarko, are to receive 56 mandates in the 151-seat parliament.

With no outright majority, forming a new government will depend on deals with small parties.

A strong show by newcomer Most (Bridge of Independent Lists) Party, founded in 2012, could see them become kingmakers, as they're projected to receive 18 mandates.

On one of the main election topics - the refugee crisis - an HDZ-led coalition could result in tougher measures to stop migrants from entering the country.

Sunday's election was the first one held in any of the countries on the main migratory route, after hundreds of thousands of people arrived in the EU via Greece and the Western Balkans.

Over 320,000 people came to Croatia, a country of 4.4 million, since mid-September, en route to Germany. Numbers swelled after Hungary sealed its border with razor wire.

The crisis seems to have helped diplomat-turned-politician Milanovic.

He's seen as having treated refugees with compassion, but also as having stood up for Croatia, by criticising Hungary and Serbia for waving people through.

Croatian society showed sympathy, in part, because many Croatians were also refugees in the 1990s Balkan wars.

The HDZ talked about tougher border controls, but won few votes on the issue.

HDZ, which steered Croatia to independence from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia in 1991, ran a campaign full of patriotic rhetoric, evoking the memory of Croatia's nationalist founding father, Franjo Tudjman.

It also promised quicker economic growth.

It's the economy

The economy dominated the elections, with Milanovic losing votes for failing to reform the public sector or to get people back to work.

Croatia’s economy, one of the most fragile in Europe, grew slightly this year after six years of recession. Its debt is 90 percent of GDP.

Unemployment is over 16 percent - the third highest rate in the EU, after Greece and Spain. Youth unemployment is 43.1 percent, also third highest.