Mesić will be a candidate of the People’s Coalition in the first parliamentary constituency.
Former President Stjepan Mesić will return to active politics – at September’s parliamentary elections he will be a candidate of the People’s Coalition. That was agreed at yesterday's meeting of the presidents of SDP and HSU Zoran Milanović and Silvano Hrelja, reports Večernji List on July 13, 2016.
Hrelja sought for his party three secure seats on the candidate lists of the People’s Coalition, and Milanović agreed to give them two seats. Thus, HSU will seek its third parliamentary seat through preferential votes, and their candidate will be Stjepan Mesić. The first Croatian Prime Minister and a two-term President will be positioned around the tenth place on the list of the People’s Coalition in the first parliamentary constituency, which included the centre of Zagreb. HSU spokesperson Jurica Galešić confirmed that Mesić was interested in candidacy and that SDP president Milanović agreed with their proposal. The former President confirmed that he would be a candidate. “If I can help, I have to do it”, said 81-year-old Mesić.
The first position on the candidate list belongs to Milanović, the second to former Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić (HNS), and they will together with Mesić run in that constituency presumably against HDZ president Andrej Plenković and MOST president Božo Petrov. Candidate lists in all ten constituencies will have SDP members on first positions, and their partners from the People’s Coalition will get 14 secure positions, which are supposed to guarantee the election to Parliament.
HSU will get two secure positions – for party leader Silvano Hrelja in the eighth constituency and an additional seat in the second constituency. HSS will get five secure positions – party president Krešo Beljak will be at the second position in the seventh parliamentary constituency. HNS president Ivan Vrdoljak will be the second on the candidate list in the fourth parliamentary constituency which includes Osijek.
Interestingly, just like last year, HNS leadership has “forgotten” one of their most popular politicians, former Construction Minister Anka Mrak-Taritaš. She will be placed in the second constituency, but will have to try to get into Parliament through preferential votes, just like she did in November.
It is expected that leaders of SDP, HNS, HSS and HSU will sign the coalition agreement on Saturday in Čakovec, even though there are rumours that HNS is not satisfied with their position within the coalition and might still run independently.
