Low-profile Europe

Croatia’s first ever European elections were marked by high abstention rates. Only 20.74% of Croatians went to the polls, changing pre-electoral forecasts: the centre-right opposition party HDZ, scored 32.86%, obtaining 6 out of 12 seats. The Social-Democratic party won five seats with 32.07%. The Labour party, with 5.7%, will have just one seat. Social-Democrat prime minister Zoran Milanoviæ, commenting on the results, said: "Politicians should reflect on the reasons for the low turnout", described as "regrettable" by the leader of the Chairman of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Hannes Swoboda. He added: "I hope that the impending accession of Croatia to the EU and the work of the country’s newly elected representatives will increase voters’ participation in next years’ elections, when all 28 member states will elect a new European Parliament".A low-profile electoral campaign. The turnouts to the polls in Croatia are almost the lowest ever. Similarly low figures were registered in Slovakia in 2009, with 19.63% of voters, in Poland with 20.87% in 2004, and in Lithuania, as low as 20.98% in 2009. Political analysts agree that Croatia’s didn’t consider the elections important because the newly elected MEPs will hold office for less than a year. But the lack of interest by Croatian media, which devoted very little space to the European elections, its 336 candidates and their programs, is undeniable. For political analyst Zarko Puhovski "electoral campaigns were replaced by weeks of virtual electoral silence". Croatia’s socialist government, experts agree, is also paying the dues of its austerity measures based on new taxes and of the cuts in public sector wages. These are burdensome measures for a Country whose unemployment rate reached 22% in ten years. Croatian daily "Jutarnji List" wrote that it was "Milanoviæ’s worst turnout since the 2008 legislative elections", caused by "the disaffection of centrist voters, fuelled by the lack of concrete results by the government". For the daily the low turnouts are caused by the presence of "unknown candidates and by a scarcely convincing campaign based on secondary issues, such as MEP’s salaries and their knowledge of English".The voice of Catholic bishops. Also the message sent by the bishops of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference went unheard. During their 46th plenary meeting (April 9-11) the bishops had called upon the faithful to vote and "practice their civil rights, this contributing to the common good, to express their love for the homeland". The bishops exhorted them to be assume their "responsibilities". "In this moment in time we are facing major challenges at global level. As we near the date of accession to the European Europe, wisdom, skill and ethical management is required by the authorities in charge for the good of the entire community", was written in the press release issued by the Bishops’ Conference, that also underlined the importance of electing representatives "capable of upholding Christian principles with courage", notably the "protection of human life, from the moment of conception to its natural termination, the dignity of marriage and the family, parents’ rights to decide their children’s education, everyone’s right to a job and to a dignified life, the promotion of culture and of the rich spiritual patrimony of the Croatian nation in the institutions of central Europe". Pro-Europe or euro-scepticism? On the part of the EU the process of openness to the Balkan Region continues, ahead of Croatia’s accession to the European Union, July 1st. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton is planning a trip to the country to follow adhesion negotiations with Serbia, and possibly, with Montenegro. "I will travel to the Western Balkans to step up the EU’s commitment to build a European perspective in the countries of the region, encouraging its leaders to continue the reform process and promote good neighborhood policies", Ashton concluded. It is yet to be understood whether the Balkan Region, notably Croatia, is interested to be part of the EU or whether the wave of euroscepticism characterizing European countries, marked also by the creation of an anti-euro party in Germany, will take over. For the deputy vice-President of the Parliament Gianni Pittella, "also after the political elections in Italy and Greece, it shows there is a the wind of hostility against this Europe that focuses on blind and deaf austerity, disregarding social problems".