Davor Gjenero

Croatia's prime minister says he sees no prospect of cooperation with the country's president. The president says the PM has not shown "even the slightest interest" in resolving a raft of issues where their jurisdictions overlap.

That Andrej Plenkovic, the premier, and Zoran Milanovic, the president, do not see eye to eye has long been apparent.

The Croatian parliament was dissolved on Monday on the proposal last week of six parliamentary clubs of the ruling majority, led by the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union HDZ, whose ratings have risen in the coronavirus epidemic.

A Croatian political expert said Sunday's presidential election victory by the centre-left candidate, Zoran Milanovic, was to some extent a protest vote against his rival's "hard-core nationalist campaign".

Elections for a new head of Croatia's main centre-left opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, SDP, are vital no only for reviving the damaged image of the party but to restore some "balance" to Croatia's political scene, political analyst Davor Gjenero told BIRN.

Experts worry that Zoran MIlanovic's comfortable victory of his fourth term as party president of Croatia's strongest opposition party, the centre-left Social Democratic Party, SDP, may signal a monopoly of power within the party.

Croatia's new centre-right coalition government is experiencing growing tension between the dominant Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, on one side and the Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, and Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic on the other.

The junior party in the Croatian government, the Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, is continuing to demand reform of local government despite encountering resistance from the leading party, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ.

MOST wants Croatia's current 20 counties and City of Zagreb - a special unit - cut to five to seven regions centred around bigger cities.

Political experts told BIRN that in the upcoming elections in November, a major role would be played by parties outside the centre-left coalition led by the governing Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the centre-right coalition led by the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ.

The constitutional court's decision this week to revoke the conviction of Sanader for bribery and illegal profiteering and order a retrial will not damage the electoral chances of his party, the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, at polls due late this year or in early 2016, analysts told BIRN.

The head of Croatia's left-wing Labour Party, Nansi Tireli, on Friday said the party is close to join the governing centre-left coalition in the upcoming parliamentary elections.