Bridge of Independent Lists

Bridge of Independent Lists
Most nezavisnih lista
President Božo Petrov
Secretary Katarina Ujdur
Vice President Nikola Grmoja
Founder Božo Petrov
Founded 17 November 2012 (2012-11-17)
Headquarters Zagreb, Croatia
Ideology

Fiscal conservatism

Economic liberalism[1]

Big tent[2]

Political position Centre to Centre-right[3][4]
European affiliation None
International affiliation None
Colours Blue, Orange
Sabor
13 / 151
European Parliament
0 / 11
County Prefects
0 / 21
Mayors
4 / 128
Website
most-nl.com

The Bridge of Independent Lists (Croatian: Most nezavisnih lista, Most) is a party platform in Croatia founded in 2012. The party is led by Božo Petrov, its founder and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament.

Origins

Božo Petrov, founder of Most and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament

The Bridge of Independent Lists was founded in Metković on 17 November 2012 as a regionalist political platform. Božo Petrov was chosen as the first party president.[5]

In 2013, the Bridge of Independent Lists participated in the local elections in the town of Metković. The party won 46.25% of votes, and 9 out of 17 seats in the City Council.[6] Božo 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, Bridge of Independent Lists won 9.97% of the vote in county elections and entered the County Assembly of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County.[7]

2015 parliamentary elections

For the 2015 parliamentary election the party went national and was joined by independent local politicians from other parts of the country.[8]

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.[9][10] 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.[11]

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 of Croatia (SDP), and the centre-right opposition Patriotic Coalition, led by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).[12] 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

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.[13] 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.[14][15]

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.[16] Several legislative proposals by the party were rejected by HDZ, including an amendment for reducing benefits of MPS,[17] and the adoption of a new waste management plan.[18]

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.[19][20] Three MPs of Most sided with HDZ and later formed their own party.[21] 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.[22]

Election history

Legislative

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

ElectionIn coalition withVotes won
PercentageTotal seats won
Change
Government
November 2015 None 303,564 13.17% (#3)
19 / 151
 Increase 19 Government
September 2016 None 187,282 9.91% (#3)
13 / 151
 Decrease 6 Government

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Što je ekonomska desnica i tko je zastupa na izborima?". tportal.hr. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Tko je Most: Obrazovani, mladi, razočarani, konzervativni...". Vecernji.hr. 10 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "'Konzervativni ORaH' – Božo Petrov okuplja ekipu za parlamentarne izbore". Vecernji.hr. 24 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Uz dobro profiliranje, MOST može ponuditi stvarni treći put". Barometar.vecernji.hr. 4 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "'SPASILI SMO METKOVIĆ' Gradonačelnik Božo Petrov se hvali uspjesima nakon 14 mjeseci vođenja grada". Jutarnji.hr. 11 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "KONAČAN PAD JAMBA: Mostarski liječnik u drugom krugu postaje novi gradonačelnik Metkovića?". poskok.info. 20 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Privremeni Neslužbeni Rezultati Izbora Za Županijsku Skupštinu". Izbori.hr. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "Newcomer Set For Key Role After Croatian Election". balkaninsight.com. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "NU2: Ovako Božo Petrov misli riješiti probleme u Hrvatskoj". Croatian Radiotelevision. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Croatia Elections: New Prime Minister Will Not Be Milanović or Karamarko, Says MOST". Total Croatia News. 10 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Independent Alliance Becomes Kingmaker After Croatia Polls". balkaninsight.com. 9 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Tihomir Orešković to Be Named as Croatian Prime Minister-Designate". Total Croatia News. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Prime Minister Orešković and His Croatian Government Take Power". Total Croatia News. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Petrov: Bridge seeks six ministries, including Interior Ministry". About Croatia. 4 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "Is Further Cooperation between HDZ and MOST Possible?". Total Croatia News. 8 May 2016.
  17. ↑ "Bridge says HDZ, SDP stop amendment of MP benefits' law". About Croatia. 19 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Dobrovic accuses HDZ over scrapped waste management plan". About Croatia. 19 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "MOST: We Support Prime Minister Orešković, HDZ Should Show Us Its "Majority"". Total Croatia News. 9 June 2016.
  20. ↑ "Prime Minister Orešković: I Will Not Resign, I Will Defend Myself in Parliament". Total Croatia News. 10 June 2016.
  21. ↑ "New political party, Let's Change Croatia, founded". About Croatia. 2 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Croatia government falls as PM loses no-confidence vote". Al Jazeera. 16 June 2016.
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