Croatian People's Party

The resounding nature of Plenkovic's victory, however, glosses over internal divisions that plagued the conservative HDZ leading up to this race.

Amid an ongoing crisis in the ruling coalition in Croatia, with the junior coalition partner, the Croatian People's Party, HNS, threatening the senior Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, that it will vote against the draft budget for 2020, speculation grows about about the coalition collapsing.

Over 10,000 protesters from all over Croatia, as well as from Bosnia and Herzegovina, gathered on Thursday evening in the centre of the coastal city of Split to protest against Zagreb's upcoming ratification Council of Europe's Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, widely known as the Istanbul Convention.

After visiting Croatia in June 2016, a European delegation is back in the country for a two-day visit.

The delegation comprises the South East Europe Media Organisation, the European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, Reporters Without Borders and the Association of European Journalists.

With the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, losing potential partners for forming a new governing majority in the Croatian parliament, new general elections seem to be a realistic scenario in the coming months, an analyst told BIRN.

Some 3.7 million Croatian voters will be heading to the polls on Sunday for the local elections, choosing representatives for neighbourhood, city, municipality and county assemblies, as well as directly electing mayors, municipal heads, and county prefects.

Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric could become the subject of an investigation by the Commission for Conflict of Interest Prevention after being reported for his ties with Croatia's biggest private company Agrokor, which is currently going through a financial crisis.

Experts have given the thumbs-down to a call by Josip Djakic, an MP from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, for volunteers in the military to enjoy an advantage in getting jobs in the public service.

Djakic, also president of the Association of Croatian Military Handicapped of the Homeland War, on Thursday proposed the idea as a legal amendment.

Experts have given the thumbs-down to a call by Josip Djakic, an MP from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, for volunteers in the military to enjoy an advantage in getting jobs in the public service.

Djakic, also president of the Association of Croatian Military Handicapped of the Homeland War, on Thursday proposed the idea as a legal amendment.

The likely result of an upcoming non-confidence vote on Croatia's Science and Education Minister Pavo Barisic is still unclear as both governing and opposition parties voice conflicting views.