Centre (Croatian political party)

Last updated

Centre
Centar
President Ivica Puljak
Vice presidentsMarin Račić
Lana Pavić
FounderMarijana Puljak
Founded2013 (as Citizens' initiative)
2015 (as Political party)
Headquarters Split, Croatia [1]
Membership (2022)312 [2]
Ideology Social liberalism [3] [4]
Economic liberalism [3] [4]
Pro-Europeanism
Political position Centre
National affiliation Rivers of Justice
(since 2024)
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours  Blue,   Magenta
Before 2020:
  Dark blue,   Orange
Slogan"Budućnost Hrvatske je biti <centar>" [5]
("The future of Croatia is to be the Centre")
Sabor
2 / 151
European Parliament
0 / 11
County Prefects
0 / 21
Mayors
1 / 128
Split City Council
15 / 31
Website
strankacentar.hr

Centre (Croatian : Centar) is a liberal [6] political party in Croatia. The party was formed under the name Pametno (English: Intelligently) in Split in 2015 out of the citizens' initiative Za pametne ljude i pametan grad ("For smart people and a smart city"). [7] The fundamental values endorsed by the party are the promotion of democracy, accountable and transparent management of public resources, civil proactive protection of fundamental human rights, economic development and environmental protection. [8]

Contents

The Party's priorities are structural reforms, education and science, [9] and it adheres to the values of "modern Western European countries". In November 2020, following a merger with Dalija Orešković's Party with a First and Last Name, the party Pametno changed name to the Centre.

History

Pametno (until 2020)

Pametno logo Logo of the Pametno.png
Pametno logo

Pametno was founded in 2013 as citizens' initiative Za pametne ljude i pametan grad ("For smart people and a smart city") in the second most populous city in Croatia, Split, by computer scientist Marijana Puljak. In 2010, Puljak served as President of the Split City District of Žnjan which had around 6000 citizens. During her tenure, she achieved success by reviving social life in the district, launching the construction of a children's playground and obtaining a building permit for a new district school. In 2013, she founded the citizens' initiative, competed in the 2013 local elections and eventually, surprisingly, ended up winning 4 seats in the Split City Council.

In 2015, the citizens' initiative was transformed into a political party whose work was based on the principles of 'New people for a new policy', 'Science and education as the foundation of society' and 'Policies based on evidence'. [10] [7]

Pametno participated in the 2015 parliamentary election in the 10th electoral district but did not win any seats in the Parliament. [10] In the 2016 extraordinary parliamentary election, the Party went national as part of the two-party "Turn Croatia Around" coalition, eventually coming in 7th in term of votes won, but winning no seats in the Parliament.

At the 2017 local elections, the Party nominated Marijana Puljak as its candidate for the position of Mayor of Split. [11] She eventually came in third and did not qualify for the second round. However, Pametno won 7 seats in the Split City Council; three more than the party had won at the previous election.

On 1 December 2017 the party was admitted into the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe as an affiliate member. [12] As of 2024, Centre has achieved full membership status. [13]

Centre (since 2020)

Pametno participated in the 2020 parliamentary election in a centrist coalition with relatively new parties Focus and Party with a First and Last Name (IP). [14] Marijana Puljak was elected a member of Parliament in the 10th electoral district. After a split with Focus, newly elected MPs Puljak and Dalija Orešković (IP) formed a parliamentary club together with Anka Mrak-Taritaš, the leader of Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS). The club became the first all-female club in history of Sabor. [15] [16]

In November 2020, Party with a First and Last Name and Pametno announced their merger into one party, called Centre. [17] [18] The announcement was not well received among the Split party members at the time. Many left, including six local councilors and party founders that later founded Smart for Split and Dalmatia. Formally, Pametno changed its name while IP remained as a registered party, with MP Orešković as a member of both parties, because of political funds the party would receive for their elected seat in Sabor. Orešković, Marijana Puljak, Dario Carev and Marin Račić were elected co-presidents of Centre. [19] [20]

At the 2021 local elections, the Party candidate for the position of the Mayor of Split was Ivica Puljak. First round he ended first while in the runoff he beat HDZ candidate Vice Mihanović. The Centre also won 7 out of 31 seats in the council, coming second. [21] Since the 2021 nationwide local elections, the party also has city councilors in Rijeka and Zadar. [22] [23] In the extraordinary elections in June 2022, mayor Ivica Puljak confirmed his mandate, and 15 councilors from the Centre party entered the Split city council.

At the party's online electoral congress in November 2021, mayor Puljak was elected the new leader of the party, with Lana Pavić and Marin Račić as his vice presidents and Dalija Orešković as the political secretary. [24] Orešković however left Centre in August 2023, due to the dispute with Puljak couple and formed Dalija Orešković and People with a First and Last Name on 8 October 2023, as a continuation of Party with a First and Last Name. [25] [26]

The Centre was one of the 11 left-wing and liberal opposition parties that organized the 2024 Zagreb protest. In March 2024, the party became a part of the Rivers of Justice coalition ahead of the 2024 Croatian parliamentary election. [27]

Electoral results

Parliament (Sabor)

The following is a summary of the party's results in legislative elections for the Croatian Parliament. The "Votes won" and "Percentage" columns include sums of votes won by pre-election coalitions Pametno had been part of. The "Seats won" column includes sums of seats won by Pametno.

ElectionCoalitionVotes wonPercentageSeats wonChangeGovernment
(Coalition totals)(Coalition totals)
2015 —6,0010.27%
0 / 151
Steady2.svgno seats
2016 Za grad38,8122.06%
0 / 151
Steady2.svgno seats
2020 Fokus - IP 66,3993.98%
3 / 151
Increase2.svg3opposition

European Parliament

ElectionCoalitionVotes wonPercentageSeats wonChange
2019 UK15,0741.40%
0 / 12
Steady2.svg

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Statut političke stranke Pametno". Narodne novine. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Izvješće o obavljenoj financijskoj reviziji - Centar za 2022" (PDF). State Audit Office (in Croatian). 30 October 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Puljak: Želimo se maknuti od '41., '71. i '91. godine". N1. 29 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 Damir Petranović (26 March 2017). "'Spavam 3-4 sata, više otkidam od obitelji nego od banke, a nisam ni lijevo ni desno'". tportal.hr.
  5. ↑ "Hrvatska u centru" (in Croatian). Centre. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Croatia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  7. 1 2 "Osnovana stranka Pametno :: Radio Split". Radio.hrt.hr. 14 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  8. ↑ admin (21 September 2015). "O nama". Pametno. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Hina (3 October 2015). "Marijana Puljak predstavila stranku "Pametno": Treba ograničiti mandat političarima - Vijesti". Index.hr . Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  10. 1 2 "PAMETNO - BIOGRAFIJA Marijana Puljak, predsjednica stranke Pametno". Dnevnik.hr. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Hina (17 January 2017). "Marijana Puljak kandidatkinja stranke Pametno za splitsku gradonačelnicu". Jutarnji list. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "ALDE welcomes new member parties | ALDE Party". Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Centar". aldeparty.eu. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  14. ↑ "Bjelovar: Stranka s imenom i prezimenom, Pametno i Fokus predstavili koaliciju za izbore". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 15 June 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  15. ↑ "Raspala se koalicija centra: Zurovec napustio Marijanu Puljak i Daliju Orešković". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). 22 July 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  16. ↑ "Sabor dobio prvi ženski klub u novijoj povijesti. Puljak, Orešković i Mrak Taritaš idu zajedno". telegram.hr (in Croatian). Telegram. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  17. ↑ "Marijana Puljak i Dalija Orešković spojile stranke; Rođen Centar" [Marijana Puljak and Dalija merged their parties; Centre is born]. tportal.hr (in Croatian). Tportal. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  18. ↑ "Leinert Novosel: Svi žele biti centar, tamo je najviše glasača". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Večernji list. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  19. ↑ "Istražili smo pozadinu neobičnoga stranačkog manevra Dalije Orešković i Marijane Puljak: Slijedi pobuna". tportal.hr (in Croatian). Tportal. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  20. ↑ "Stranku Pametno napustilo šestero suosnivača: 'Odlazimo zbog samovolje Marijane Puljak i Dalije'". jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Hrvatska je izabrala! Pogledajte tko će voditi vaš grad sljedeće četiri godine" [Croatia has chosen! See who will run your city for the next four years]. Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  22. ↑ "Marin Račić prekinuo političku suradnju s Davorom Štimcem". novilist.hr (in Croatian). Novi list. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  23. ↑ "Županijska skupština Zadarske županije". strankacentar.hr. Centre. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  24. ↑ "Ivica Puljak izabran za predsjednika stranke Centar". N1 (in Croatian). 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  25. ↑ "Dalija Orešković za Dnevnik Nove TV o razlozima odlaska iz Centra: "Nekako se vidi ta mala distanca"". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  26. ↑ "Dalija Orešković i ljudi s imenom i prezimenom, stranka s kojom Dalija ide na izbore". www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  27. ↑ "Oporba se udružila: 10 stranaka ide na izbore u koaliciji za bolju Hrvatsku". tportal.hr (in Croatian). Tportal. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
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