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The Bridge (Croatia)

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This article is about the political party. For actual bridges in Croatia, see List of bridges in Croatia.
The Bridge
Most
PresidentBožo Petrov
Vice PresidentsNikola Grmoja
Ronaldo Barišić[1]
Founded17 November 2012 (2012-11-17)
HeadquartersZagreb
Membership (2021)775[2]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[A][8]
Colours  Orange
  Blue
Sabor
7 / 151
European Parliament
0 / 12
County Prefects
0 / 21
Mayors
1 / 128
Website
most-hrvatska.hr
^ A: Although beginning as a big tent party, and later a centre-right one, it has recently shifted to the right.

The Bridge (Croatian: Most), previously known as Bridge of Independent Lists (Croatian: Most nezavisnih lista) until November 2020,[9] is a political party in Croatia founded in 2012. The party is led by Božo Petrov, its founder and the former mayor of Metković, deputy prime minister and speaker of the Croatian Parliament. Although the party leaders initially avoided ideological topics, The Bridge underwent a rebranding prior to the 2020 Croatian parliamentary election, establishing itself as a social conservative and soft Eurosceptic party.[5][10]

Origins

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Former logo
Božo Petrov, founder of Most and former deputy prime minister and speaker of the Croatian Parliament.

The Bridge of Independent Lists (Most) was founded in Metković on 17 November 2012 as a regionalist political platform. Božo Petrov was chosen as the first party president.[11]

In 2013, the Bridge of Independent Lists participated in the local elections in the town of Metković. The party won 46.25% of the votes, and 9 out of 17 seats in the City Council.[12] Petrov won 45.78% of the votes and entered the second round of elections for the mayor against Stipe Gabrić Jambo, incumbent mayor since 1997. In the second round Petrov won with 67.94% of the votes and became the Mayor of Metković. At the same election, Most won 9.97% of the votes in county elections and entered the County Assembly of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County.[13]

2015 parliamentary election

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Main article: 2015 Croatian parliamentary election

For the 2015 parliamentary election, the party went national and was joined by independent local politicians from other parts of the country.[14]

The party campaigned for fiscal responsibility, reduction of government spending and public debt, tax cuts, reforms in the public sector and the reduction of administrative divisions in Croatia.[15][16] The party supported an expansionary monetary policy and monetary reforms that would include the Croatian National Bank introducing a low interest policy to foster economic growth.[17]

The party won 19 seats in the Croatian Parliament and came third behind the ruling centre-left Croatia is Growing coalition, led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the centre-right opposition Patriotic Coalition, led by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).[18] Four MPs left Most in the aftermath of the election. When the 8th Parliament assembly was formed, Most had 15 MPs.

Government of Tihomir Orešković

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Main article: Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković

After more than 40 days of negotiations and numerous turnarounds, Most decided to form a government with the Patriotic Coalition, giving them a slim majority of 78 seats. They nominated the Croatian-Canadian businessman Tihomir Orešković to be the next Prime Minister of Croatia.[19] The government cabinet was formed on 22 January 2016 and party president Božo Petrov was named deputy prime minister, together with HDZ's president Tomislav Karamarko. Along with Petrov, six ministers in the new government were proposed by Most: Interior, Justice, Administration, Economy, Agriculture and Environment.[20][21]

The new government was marked by strained relations between Most and the Patriotic Coalition, particularly over the INA, Croatia's national oil company, and the Ministry of the Interior.[22] Several legislative proposals by the party were rejected by HDZ, including an amendment for reducing benefits of MPs,[23] and the adoption of a new waste management plan.[24]

In May 2016, Most called for Karamarko's resignation over a conflict of interest, which the latter refused to do. After Orešković also requested his resignation, a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister was initiated by HDZ.[25][26] Three MPs of Most sided with HDZ and later formed their own party.[27] 125 MPs voted in favour, 15 voted against, and 2 abstained. Both the HDZ and most of the opposition voted in favour, while Most voted against.[28]

2016 parliamentary election

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Main article: 2016 Croatian parliamentary election

Following the collapse of the Orešković government in June 2016, an attempt was made by the Croatian Democratic Union to assemble a parliamentary majority which would support a new government, to be headed by Finance Minister Zdravko Marić. This attempt failed, however, and the main opposition party in Parliament, the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, began to gather signatures for an early dissolution of parliament so elections could be held by the end of the year. Following consultations within Most, its members of Parliament agreed to sign the opposition's petition for an early dissolution, with the successful parliamentary vote on the issue taking place on 20 June 2016 and taking effect on 15 July 2016. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović set 11 September 2016 as the date for elections.

Most contested the early parliamentary election on its own and won 13 seats (with 9.91% of the vote), which was a decline of 6 seats compared to the previous parliamentary election (when Most won 19 seats with 13.17% of the vote). However if post-election changes in the MPs party membership are taken into account following the previous election, Most actually gained one seat more than it held on the day parliament was dissolved on 15 July 2016.

Government of Andrej Plenković

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Main article: Cabinet of Andrej Plenković I

Following the announcement of parliamentary election results, Most chairman Božo Petrov declared that Most would be open to negotiations with either one of the larger parties (HDZ and SDP) if they accepted Most's seven conditions (a package of laws aimed at passing reforms in a series of fields).

Election results

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Legislative

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The following is a summary of the party's results in legislative elections for the Croatian parliament.

Year Votes won
 Percentage Total seats won
 Change
 Government
2015 303,564 13.17% (#3)
19 / 151
 New Government
2016 187,282 9.91% (#3)
13 / 151
 Decrease 6 Government 2016–2017
Opposition 2017–2020
2020 123,194 7.39% (#4)
8 / 151
 Decrease 5 Opposition
2024 169,988 8.02% (#4)
9 / 151
 Increase 1 Opposition

European Parliament

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Election List leader Coalition Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
Coalition Most
2019 Božo Petrov None 50,257 4.68 (#6)
0 / 12
 New –
2024 HS–HSP 30,155 4.01 (#6)
0 / 12
 Steady 0

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Most izabrao novo vodstvo, Božo Petrov novi stari predsjednik, Miletić i Grmoja potpredsjednici". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Izvješće o obavljenoj financijskoj reviziji - Blok za Hrvatsku za 2021" (PDF). State Audit Office (in Croatian). 20 September 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Croatia". Europe Elects. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  4. ^ Grbeša, Marijana; Šalaj, Berto (2017). "Populism in Croatia: The Curious Case of The Bridge (Most)". Anali Hrvatskog politološkog društva. 14 (1): 7–30. doi:10.20901/an.14.01. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Što je ekonomska desnica i tko je zastupa na izborima?". tportal.hr. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Grmoja:Djeci se nameće LGBT propaganda, izradit ću antipedofilski paket i tome stati na kraj". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Forces align on the Croatian right ahead of the 2024 election". Balkan Insight. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Grmoja: Most je moderna politička stranka i zato smo promjenom Statuta pojednostavili procese i pravila uoči unutarstranačkih izbora" (in Croatian). Most. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  10. ^ "MOST Leader Says Eurobureaucrats Attempting to Create Super-State". Total Croatia News. 5 May 2019.
  11. ^ "'SPASILI SMO METKOVIĆ' Gradonačelnik Božo Petrov se hvali uspjesima nakon 14 mjeseci vođenja grada". Jutarnji.hr. 11 August 2014.
  12. ^ "KONAČAN PAD JAMBA: Mostarski liječnik u drugom krugu postaje novi gradonačelnik Metkovića?". poskok.info. 20 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Privremeni neslužbeni rezultati izbora za Županijsku skupštinu". Izbori.hr. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  14. ^ Prelec, Tena; Brown, Stuart (7 November 2015). "Croatian elections: a final look at the parties and the campaign". EuroPP – European Politics and Policy. London School of Economics and Political Science.
  15. ^ "Newcomer Set For Key Role After Croatian Election". balkaninsight.com. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  16. ^ "NU2: Ovako Božo Petrov misli riješiti probleme u Hrvatskoj". Croatian Radiotelevision. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Croatia Elections: New Prime Minister Will Not Be Milanović or Karamarko, Says MOST". Total Croatia News. 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Independent Alliance Becomes Kingmaker After Croatia Polls". balkaninsight.com. 9 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Tihomir Orešković to Be Named as Croatian Prime Minister-Designate". Total Croatia News. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Prime Minister Orešković and His Croatian Government Take Power". Total Croatia News. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  21. ^ "Petrov: Bridge seeks six ministries, including Interior Ministry". About Croatia. 4 January 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Is Further Cooperation between HDZ and MOST Possible?". Total Croatia News. 8 May 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  23. ^ "Bridge says HDZ, SDP stop amendment of MP benefits' law". About Croatia. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  24. ^ "Dobrovic accuses HDZ over scrapped waste management plan". About Croatia. 19 August 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ "MOST: We Support Prime Minister Orešković, HDZ Should Show Us Its "Majority"". Total Croatia News. 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  26. ^ "Prime Minister Orešković: I Will Not Resign, I Will Defend Myself in Parliament". Total Croatia News. 10 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  27. ^ "New political party, Let's Change Croatia, founded". About Croatia. 2 July 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  28. ^ "Croatia government falls as PM loses no-confidence vote". Al Jazeera. 16 June 2016.
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