Croatian Party of Pensioners
Encyclopedia
The Croatian Party of Pensioners is a Croatia
n political party
. It is currently led by Silvano Hrelja.
When the Party was founded, few people took it seriously and many commentators speculated that the ultimate purpose of HSU was take away pensioners' votes from rejuvenated SDP
and thus help ruling HDZ
remain in power. However, the Party gradually built its organisation throughout the country and slowly rose in popularity due to both HDZ and left-centre cabinets of Ivica Račan
refusing to honour a Constitutional Court verdict that ordered the government to pay back pensions that had been denied in early 1990s.
At the Croatian parliamentary election, 2003
, the party won 4.0% of the popular vote and 3 out of 151 seats entering parliament for the first time. This was the biggest surprise of the election because they used very little propaganda to promote the party. They got more than 5% of the votes in 3 electoral district
s and in 4 of them between 4% and 5% of the votes.
After the elections HSU has agreed to support Ivo Sanader
as the new prime minister and provided the necessary votes for HDZ and its allies to form a majority in the Croatian Parliament. This de facto coalition remained in place despite the fact the HSU supported Stipe Mesić against HDZ candidate Jadranka Kosor
in the 2005 presidential election
. The HDZ government established a scheme to pay back the old pension debt.
HSU gained much notoriety after local and regional elections in May 2005 when many of its members got elected on left-centre election tickets only to support HDZ and right-wing parties during the forming of coalition governments.
At the Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
, the party won 101,091 votes and 4.1% of the votes, but this time the electoral math (D'Hondt method
) allowed them to receive only a single representative in the Parliament, Silvano Hrelja. They continued to support the government of Ivo Sanader, which in turn continued to pursue pensioner-related policies aligned with the opinion of the HSU.
A new major pensioner issue arose as the latest batches of retirees started to receive pensions calculated by the Ministry of Finance according to a newly accepted formula (referred to as "the Swiss formula" in local media). HSU insisted that these new pensions were recalculated to be equalized with the older ones.
In 2009, the economic crisis caused the government of Jadranka Kosor
to start talks about extra crisis taxation and after a row with the finance minister Ivan Šuker
, the HSU withdrew their support for the government.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. It is currently led by Silvano Hrelja.
When the Party was founded, few people took it seriously and many commentators speculated that the ultimate purpose of HSU was take away pensioners' votes from rejuvenated SDP
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...
and thus help ruling HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
remain in power. However, the Party gradually built its organisation throughout the country and slowly rose in popularity due to both HDZ and left-centre cabinets of Ivica Račan
Ivica Racan
Ivica Račan was a Croatian career politician, leader of the League of Communists of Croatia and later Social Democratic Party from 1989 to 2007...
refusing to honour a Constitutional Court verdict that ordered the government to pay back pensions that had been denied in early 1990s.
At the Croatian parliamentary election, 2003
Croatian parliamentary election, 2003
-External links:*...
, the party won 4.0% of the popular vote and 3 out of 151 seats entering parliament for the first time. This was the biggest surprise of the election because they used very little propaganda to promote the party. They got more than 5% of the votes in 3 electoral district
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
s and in 4 of them between 4% and 5% of the votes.
After the elections HSU has agreed to support Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader |Split]]) is a Croatian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009.Sanader obtained his education in comparative literature in Austria, where he also later worked in the 1980s. He worked as a journalist, in marketing, publishing and also as a private...
as the new prime minister and provided the necessary votes for HDZ and its allies to form a majority in the Croatian Parliament. This de facto coalition remained in place despite the fact the HSU supported Stipe Mesić against HDZ candidate Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
in the 2005 presidential election
Croatian presidential election, 2005
The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005.-Background:The State Elections Committee published a list of candidates on 15 December 2004. President Stjepan Mesić stood for re-election, and the governing HDZ nominated cabinet minister Jadranka Kosor...
. The HDZ government established a scheme to pay back the old pension debt.
HSU gained much notoriety after local and regional elections in May 2005 when many of its members got elected on left-centre election tickets only to support HDZ and right-wing parties during the forming of coalition governments.
At the Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November...
, the party won 101,091 votes and 4.1% of the votes, but this time the electoral math (D'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
) allowed them to receive only a single representative in the Parliament, Silvano Hrelja. They continued to support the government of Ivo Sanader, which in turn continued to pursue pensioner-related policies aligned with the opinion of the HSU.
A new major pensioner issue arose as the latest batches of retirees started to receive pensions calculated by the Ministry of Finance according to a newly accepted formula (referred to as "the Swiss formula" in local media). HSU insisted that these new pensions were recalculated to be equalized with the older ones.
In 2009, the economic crisis caused the government of Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
to start talks about extra crisis taxation and after a row with the finance minister Ivan Šuker
Ivan Šuker
Ivan Šuker is a Croatian politician and economist. He served as Minister of Finance from 23 December 2003 to 27 December 2010, and also as member of the Croatian Democratic Union.He currently resides in Velika Gorica.-Education:...
, the HSU withdrew their support for the government.