Zarko Puhovski

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Croatia for the first time this week, aiming to firm up Turkey's position in the EU - and raising hopes of trade spin-offs for Turkish exporters.

Erdogan will visit Zagreb on Tuesday and Wednesday, meeting Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic and Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic.

Talks on forming a potential new government in Croatia have yet to bear fruit after parliamentary elections on November 8 finished without a clear winner.

The governing centre-left coalition, led by the Social Democratic Party, SDP won 56 seats, while the opposition centre-right coalition, led by Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, won 59. There are 151 seats in total.

After becoming a pivotal party for forming the next Croatian government, the Bridge of Independent Lists, MOST, on Wednesday called for a government of national unity, including MOST, the governing centre-left and the opposition centre-right coalitions.

A political newcomer, MOST won 19 of the 151 seats in parliament in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

With parliamentary elections expected in November, the economy, the refugee crisis and voter trust in the main leadership candidates are likely to dominate the debate, sayspolitical analyst.

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.

Former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told a TV show on the N1 network on Tuesday that he is about to form a new centre-left party.

"It will be a party of young people and people who have already established their careers. Let the name remain a secret for now," Josipovic stated.

The party formed on Saturday by supporters of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic has only slim chances of polling well in the next parliamentary elections, experts say.

Bandic is currently in custody being investigated for corruption.

The mayor of the Croatian capital was arrested in October 2014 on suspicion of corruption, abuse of office and influence peddling.

Croatian Culture Minister Andrea Zlatar Violic was facing dismissal on Monday following reports that auditors found she took money from the ministry account - only to later return it to the budget in instalments.

The case is seen as a test of the centre-left coalition governments' claim to be more ethically moral than its scandal-ridden, right-wing predecssor.

In spite of being on bail while an investigation into corruption is ongoing, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic has made it clear he intends to contest another election in the near future.

Currently, he is banned by the Zagreb county court from performing any of his mayoral duties while an investigation proceeds into alleged corruption, abuse of office and influence peddling.