Week in Review: New Trends, Old Problems

Green-Left Trend?

Croatian leader of 'Mozemo' Party Tomislav Tomasevic casts his ballot at a polling station in downtown Zagreb, Croatia. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT

Green-left politics seems to have arrived to at least one corner of the Balkans, with Tomislav Tomasevic of the We Can! Movement sweeping to first place with 45.15% of votes cast in the first round of Zagreb City elections on May 16. The second round will be held on May 30, with little prospect of anyone overtaking him.

In his opinion piece for Balkan Insight, our senior editor Marcus Tanner looks at the wider European shift from established social democracy to green-left political alternatives and the fragmentation of the left vote which this has brought. Our analysis ahead of the elections also considered the national prospects of different parties in these elections.

Read more: In Electing a Leftist Mayor, Croatia Follows European Trends (May 19, 2021)
Read more: Croatia's Ruling Party Eyes Big Win in Local Polls, but not Zagreb (May 14, 2021)

Gearing Up

Moldovan President Maia Sandu speaking on the phone. Photo: Moldovan Presidency Facebook page

Moldova is gearing up for a long anticipated Parliamentary election on July 11, whose outcome could have a significant impact on the country's future political - and indeed geopolitical - trajectory. What is at stake and what is the outlook?

As the long campaign gets under way, two distinct narratives are framing the election campaign. The 'left', represented by the pro-Russian Socialists, is using nationalist rhetoric and geopolitical posturing. Meanwhile, the pro-European 'right' is adopting the language of anti-corruption politics. Polls point to a lead for the latter, yet as...

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