The Croatian democratic Union or the Croatian democratic Community (in Croatian: Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica , HDZ ) is a Croatian Political party founded in 1989 by Croatian nationalist dissidents carried out by Franjo Tuđman. The HDZ is one of the two political principal parties in Croatia. He is associated member of the European Popular party. With the international level, he is member of the international democratic Union.

History

The HDZ was founded in an almost clandestine way in 1989 by dissenting Croatian nationalists carried out by Franjo Tuđman when the multi-party system in Yugoslavia was still embryonic. The party benefitted from the relative discredit of the Ligue of the Communists of Croatia, whose chief Ivica Račan had however chosen the Social-démocratie. Tuđman and the founders of the party profited from a broad financial support on behalf of the Croats expatriates, of which much supported the ideas of the Oustachis and old the State independent of Croatia, but also from the secret services German and Austrian This influence was found with the HDZ which called with the re-establishment of Croatia in its natural borders and histories . Those would have include the Bosnia-Herzégovine to the river Drina as well as the territories that the Commission Djilas had allotted in 1945 to the Serbia and with the Montenegro. The sympathizers of the Oustachi movement were formally invited to take part in first conference of the HDZ.

The Croatian democratic Union was with the capacity of 1990 has 2000 (presidency of the Republic and parliamentary majority). During this mandate, Croatia became independent (1991, was recognized internationally (1992) and of facing the Guerre of Croatia (1991-1995).

With the elections Croatian member of Parliament of 1990, the HDZ obtained a relative majority of the seats to the Croatian Parliament. The Croatian people saw in the ideas of the HDZ at the same time a means of leaving the Communisme and Yugoslavia but more especially an answer to nationalism Serbe of Slobodan Milošević. The Croatian presidential Election of 1992 carried Franjo Tuđman to the station of President of the Republic of Croatia, station which it occupied until his death in 1999.

In spite of its recruitment various and the fact that many its leaders were old Partisans, the HDZ was rather unpopular among the Serb minorities who transfer there a resurgence of the movement Oustachi, this phenomenon being amplified by propaganda in Serbia and near the Serb ones of Croatia, mainly in Dalmatie of the north and in certain parts of the old military border of the Habsbourg.

The HDZ led Croatia of the Communisme to the Capitalisme. The governments of the HDZ carried out privatizations. Franjo Tuđman acknowledged that its goal was to create a new Croatian elite of 200 families which would have raised the standard of living of the majority of the Croats. The HDZ with the capacity privatisant Croatian industry was criticized and shown to have granted preferential treatments to the profit of the former war profiteers.

At the end of the years 1990 the party lost in popularity, in particular because of the political failures as at the time of the Crise of Zagreb and a socio-economic situation being being degraded. At the time of the Parliamentary elections Croatian of 2000, the HDZ, although remaining the first party of Croatia, was beaten by a coalition of center-left and center-right. This defeat was followed by that of the Croatian presidential Election of 2000 or the candidate of the HDZ Mate Granić was beaten by Stjepan Mesić. For the period 2000 - 2003, much thought that party HDZ could not be raised. Subdues Granić like Vesna Škare Ožbolt, left the party to form the party of democratic center-right Center ( Demokratski centar , cd.).

The HDZ was reinforced when TPIY started to seek and accuse the decision makers of the Croatian army what involved many protests in Croatia. Although the HDZ and its new leader Ivo Sanader took part in these events, they were detached from the most extreme ideologies. In addition, the Parti social liberal Croatian (HSLS) was affirmed as being of right-hand side what made pass Ivo Sanader for a centrist in comparison. In 2002, Ivić Pašalić, leader of the hard branch of the HDZ associated with excess with the Tuđman era, was opposed to Sanader with the head of the party, showing it to betray the memory of Tuđman. Against all waiting, but because of the support of Branimir Glavaš and the implicit support of liberal Croatia, Ivo Sanader preserved the direction of the party and Pašalić leaves the HDZ to form the Croatian Bloc ( Hrvatski Blok , HB ). Thus Sanader disencumbered the party as of its extreme branches and the HDZ became a party reformed . He manages to make the HDZ credible like an alternative to the government of Ivica Račan, which stagnated between indecision and internal struggles.

The party today

Ideology

In term of ideology, the leaders of the HDZ were first of all defined as a party of Droite and Tuđman was said inspired by Margaret Thatcher. Later, the party is defined as center-droite and Chrétien democrat. The only official ideology was the national reconciliation, an idea which gained the support of the Croats in favor like line extremist claiming Oustachis. In practice, this ideology justified an at least abstract rehabilitation of the Oustachis and an implicit justification of their ideology. This especially when Gojko Šušak, the Minister for Croatian defense to the head of the extreme branch of the HDZ gained the support of Tuđman. Stjepan Mesić and Josip Manolić refuses this tendency and leaves the party in]. It formed the party independent Démocrates Croatian ( Hrvatski nezavisni demokrati , HND).

These tendencies were alleviated after the war and the HDZ became a conservative part and Chrétien-démocrate.

Last electoral results

The party holds the parliamentary majority since 2003 and it formed a Government.

With the Croatian parliamentary elections of 2003 the party obtains 33,9% of vote and gains 66 of the 151 seat of the Parliament. It forms a coalition with the democratic Center (cd.) the Croatian social Liberal party (HSLS), the autonomous and democratic Parti Serb (SDSS: Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka) and the Left reprocessed the (HSU) (Hrvatska Stranka Umirovljenika). The Gouvernement of Ivo Sanader continues the reforms for the entry in the European Union, in particular the assistance with the return of the refugees, the rebuilding of the destroyed houses, supports the right of the minorities, the co-operation with TPIY and the consolidation of the Croatian economy. In spite of that, the opening of the negotiations when at the entry of Croatia in the European Union are pushed back in 2005 on the basis of not-co-operation of Croatia with TPIY on the case of the Croatian General Ante Gotovina.

These events increase the Euroscepticisme in Croatia which affects the support for the HDZ.

External bonds

• Official site of the party
• Poster of countryside of the HDZ in Sarajevo for submission to the Croats of Bosnia: portrait of Ivo Sanader in front of the " turns jumelles"