"Plenković is playing chess, everyone else is just playing ‘Ludo’”

Anyone who thought that the 2025 local elections would be a kind of swan song for Croatia's ruling HDZ party after its disastrous presidential elections at the beginning of the year was sorely disappointed: Not only did the conservative Christian Democrats win more mayoral and county council seats in this election than 2021, they also managed to maintain their position as Croatia's only truly national party with a stable voter base and functioning party structures throughout the country. In contrast, the Social Democrats emerged weakened from the local elections, while the smaller parties once again failed to establish themselves as national political players. The real winner of the local elections is likely to be the HDZ party leader, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. He has proven himself to be a clever strategist and cool-headed power politician, putting his rivals in their place for the time being.