Political party in Croatia
The
Croatian Peasant Party
(
Croatian
:
Hrvatska selja?ka stranka
,
HSS
) is an
agrarian
[4]
political party
in
Croatia
founded on 22 December 1904 by
Antun
and
Stjepan Radi?
as
Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party
(HPSS). The Brothers Radi? believed that the realization of Croatian statehood was possible within
Austria-Hungary
, but that it had to be reformed as a Monarchy divided into
three equal parts
? Austria, Hungary and Croatia. After the creation of
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
in 1918, the Party requested for the Croatian part of the Kingdom to be based on self-determination. This brought them great public support which culminated in
1920 parliamentary election
when HPSS won all 58 seats assigned to Croatia.
In 1920, disgruntled with a bad position of Croats in the Kingdom, the party changed its name into
Croatian Republican Peasant Party
(
HRSS
) and started advocating secession from the Kingdom and the establishment of
"peaceful peasant Republic of Croatia"
. On
1923
and
1925
election, HRSS doubled the number of won votes, and has thus become the second largest party in the
Parliament
.
In 1927, faced with a constant prosecution by the regime, HRSS was forced to soften its policy and change ts name into the
Croatian Peasant Party
(HSS), recognize the
Vidovdan Constitution
and form a coalition with Serbian
People's Radical Party
. This resulted in HSS losing its popularity which was seen in
1927 election
when it lost almost third of votes won in the previous elections. After the termination of the coalition agreement with the Radicals, HSS formed Peasant-Democratic Coalition with
Pribi?evi?
's
Independent Democratic Party
. In 1928,
Vladko Ma?ek
become the new president of HSS after the
assassination of Stjepan Radi?
.
After
King Alexander
declared dictatorship in 1929, HSS was banned and its members prosecuted. HSS participated in the
1935
and
1938 election
as a part of the United opposition coalition which helped it to regain its influence. In 1939,
Cvetkovi??Ma?ek Agreement
helped in the establishing of the HSS-governed
Banovina of Croatia
. After the establishment of Nazi-puppet state, the so-called
Independent State of Croatia
(NDH) in 1941, HSS was banned once again, with half of its members joining either
Usta?e
or
Partisans
, and part staying loyal to Ma?ek who believed that the victory of
Allies
would bring
liberal democracy
into Croatia and that HSS would return to power. In May 1945, Ma?ek left the country, while HSS split into two fractions which boycotted the
1945 election
because of their opposition to the
Communists
. During the period of
SFR Yugoslavia
(1945?1991), HSS was active abroad.
On 25 May 1991, HSS was restored under the leadership of Drago Stipac at the so-called
Assembly of Unification
. The party first entered Government after
2000 elections
, on which it participated as part of liberal coalition (HSS-
IDS
-
HNS
-
LS
-
SDA
), with
Ivica Ra?an
(
SDP
) serving as Prime Minister and its president
Zlatko Tom?i?
as
Parliament Speaker
. After HSS lost
2003 election
, it moved to the opposition. In
2007 election
, HSS formed yet another liberal coalition (
HSLS
-
PGS
-
ZDS
-
ZS
) and eventually ended up leading Ministries of
Tourism
and
Agriculture
in the
Cabinet of Ivo Sanader II
, and Ministries of Tourism and Regional Development in the
Cabinet of Jadranka Kosor
. In
2011 election
, the party won only one seat in the Parliament as has moved to the opposition. In
2015 election
HSS won one seat as part of the conservative
Patriotic Coalition
, and supported
Tihomir Ore?kovi?
as Prime Minister. In
2016 election
, HSS won 5 seats as part of the liberal
People's Coalition
.
History
[
edit
]
Radi? presidency
[
edit
]
Brothers Antun (left) and Stjepan Radi? (right)
The Croatian People's Peasant Party (
Hrvatska pu?ka selja?ka stranka
, HPSS) was established in 1904 by brothers
Stjepan Radi?
and
Antun Radi?
in the
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
? itself a part of the
Hungarian part
of the
dualist
Austria-Hungary
at the time. The founding of the HPSS was a part of the process of fragmentation of the
United Croat Opposition
[
hr
]
.
The party pursued the establishment of a comprehensive
grassroots
network, national unity and
agrarianism
, as the Radi?'s distrusted traditional political parties. Even though the HPSS achieved only minor significance before the end of
World War I
, the party gradually became a mass movement after 1918. This gave it the central role in the completion of Croatian national integration.
The HPSS platform of
antimilitarism
and
pacifism
became very popular in the final year of the war, especially in Croatia-Slavonia, which was affected by widespread
unrest associated with the Green Cadres
. Furthermore, the restricted voting rights were expanded after 1918 by the introduction of
universal manhood suffrage
, allowing the proportionally large peasant population (80% of Croatia-Slavonia at the time) to predominantly vote for the HPSS.
Antun Radi? died in 1919, leaving Stjepan as the sole leader of the HPSS.
After the war, following the
1920 Croatian Peasant Rebellion
, the HPSS became the only significant political party in Croatia, and the second largest party in the newly established
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
(later renamed Yugoslavia). In 1920s, the HPSS policy was based on
republicanism
, opposition to further unification of the new state, demands for a neutral Croat peasant republic, and the advocation of
national self-determination
. To reinforce the republican message, the HPSS was formally renamed the Croatian Republican Peasant Party in 1920.
Shortly following its accession to the
Peasant International
, the regime initiated a campaign to suppress the party activities in the run up to the
1925 Yugoslav parliamentary election
using political, police, military and paramilitary pressure, and arresting its leaders. Even though the party achieved the second-largest share of seats, the government retained its parliamentary majority. Nonetheless, shortly after the election, there were negotiations between Radi? and
King Alexander
's envoys. The talks ended in Radi? renouncing republicanism and accepting the monarchy in return for his release and participation in a coalition government led by the
People's Radical Party
(NRS). The party was renamed the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS).
Radi? later admitted that he accepted the monarchy to protect his people.
The HSS had little real influence in the coalition government which lasted until 1927. At the same time, the Radi?'s participation in the coalition was criticised in Croatia and in the HSS ? although not sufficiently to threaten his leadership. A part of the membership split in protest, forming the Croatian Federalist Peasant Party. The
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
(
Komunisti?ka partija Jugoslavije
, KPJ) also criticised Radi? for his cooperation with the regime. The KPJ had recently adopted the federalist approach to reform of the country and saw the republican movement of the HRSS as a potential recruitment pool. The HSS conversely, regardless of KPJ's formal federalist policy, saw the KPJ as unitarists and essentially a political endeavour to promote Serbian agenda.
The HSS left the government in January 1927.
Radi? resumed pursuit of resolution of the
Croatian question
by advocating unification of Croatian lands including
Slavonia
and
Dalmatia
into a single self-governing unit and stopping Italian immigration by abolishing the 1925
Treaty of Nettuno
.
In November, the HSS formed the Peasant-Democratic Coalition with the
Independent Democratic Party
(
Samostalna demokratska stranka
, SDS), the most popular party among the
Serbs of Croatia
.
Tense relations between the opposition and the government deteriorated further until a shouting match in the parliament escalated to the point where NRS deputy
Puni?a Ra?i?
shot several HSS parliament members killing two and wounding three including Radi? on 20 June 1928. Radi? suggested that the shootings were a result of a regime plan and that the HSS should abandon pacifism. Soon afterwards, Radi? died of the wounds on 8 August. Following the assassinations, the Yugoslav state lost any legitimacy among Croats ? who appeared united in demands for overhaul of the state.
HSS thus became the only major political party among Croats.
Vladko Ma?ek
was elected to replace Radi? almost immediately after his death.
Year
|
Popular vote
|
% of popular vote
|
Coalition
|
Seats won
|
Seat change
|
Government
|
November 1920
|
230,590
|
14.3%
|
?
|
|
50
|
opposition
|
March 1923
|
473,733
|
21.9%
|
?
|
|
20
|
opposition
|
February 1925
|
545,466
|
22.2%
|
?
|
|
3
|
government
|
September 1927
|
367,570
|
15.8%
|
?
|
|
6
|
opposition
|
Ma?ek presidency
[
edit
]
Under Ma?ek, the HSS continued political opposition to the regime. The
United Opposition
[
hr
]
which included the HSS, stood in
1935
and
1938 Yugoslavian parliamentary election
. In the latter, the United Opposition won the majority of votes, but due to operation of the election law, it received 67 out of 373 seats in the parliament.
Prompted by the failure of the government to secure the
rule of law
and public order, the HSS established the
Croatian Peasant Defence
[
hr
]
(HSZ) as a party
paramilitary
force in 1936. The force was established to protect Croats against paramilitaries supported or tolerated by the regime. The force was also designed as a response to Usta?e challenge for dominance among Croats as a force capable of providing physical protection following the
Velebit uprising
. It was meant to demonstrate that the HSS is not a pacifist organisation resigned to passivity. In cities, the HSZ operated under the name of Croatian Civil Defence.
In 1936 and 1937, Ma?ek unsuccessfully negotiated with Regent
Prince Paul
Prime Minister
Milan Stojadinovi?
with the aim of consolidation of Croatian lands within Yugoslavia ? with a degree of autonomy. Then, after contacting several European governments and failing to get their support, he turned to
Italian
foreign minister
Galeazzo Ciano
in 1938. Through an intermediary, Ma?ek explained the HSS wanted Croatia united as a federal unit of Yugoslavia encompassing territories of former Croatia?Slavonia to a line between
Ilok
and
Sremska Mitrovica
, and Dalmatia without the
Bay of Kotor
with the addition of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
west of
Vrbas
and
Neretva
Rivers. At the time, Italy was harbouring and supporting Croatian nationalist group
Usta?e
, but Ciano preferred to work with Ma?ek because the HSS enjoyed far greater support among Croats and because Ciano believed that would discourage contacts between the HSS and
Nazi Germany
? denying German access to the
Adriatic Sea
. Ciano wrote back to Ma?ek urging him to demand more territory and elaborate on his ideas.
In 1939, Stojadinovi? was replaced by
Dragi?a Cvetkovi?
and Ma?ek contacted him with the same request. The two reached a preliminary agreement, but Prince Paul vetoed the idea objecting to partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ma?ek then wrote back to Ciano explaining that he seeks status of a federal unit for Croatia within Yugoslavia, with joint foreign affairs, defence, central bank, state monopolies, and customs. He modified the territorial demands by moving the Vrbas line to the
Bosna River
. In return, the Italian Foreign Ministry drafted a document offering Ma?ek a loan to finance an uprising which the HSS would launch and then invite Italian military intervention. The plan also envisaged establishment of a Croatian state under Italian protection. Ma?ek wrote back declining the offer and saying that was not what he asked for and that he had struck a deal with Cvetkovi? government in the meantime.
The
Cvetkovi??Ma?ek Agreement
was concluded on 26 August 1939 establishing autonomous
Banovina of Croatia
. Ma?ek became the deputy prime minister of Yugoslavia and several members of the Peasant?Democratic Coalition were added to the cabinet. The agreement angered Usta?e who launched a propaganda campaign against Ma?ek and the HSS as traitors of Croatian interests while Italy switched its support back to Usta?e.
World War II and afterwards
[
edit
]
The party's fortunes declined precipitously with the outbreak of
World War II
and the
Axis
invasion in April 1941. Some party members were divided among those who sympathized with the Croatian fascist
Ustasha
independence movement, and those whose left-leaning beliefs led them to join the
Partisans
. But the vast majority of HSS supporters remained passive and neutral for the duration of the war as the Ustasha, the communist Partisans and the royalist
Chetniks
fought for control.
After the communist victory, the KPJ established one-party rule ? the HSS, along with other political parties were declared illegal.
[
citation needed
]
In 1947, HSS joined the
International Peasants' Union
. Ma?ek represented the HSS in exile until his death in 1964.
Juraj Krnjevi?
took over as leader until his own death 1988, only a year before the HSS could resume its work within Croatia.
Modern party
[
edit
]
With the advent of multi-party system in 1990, the HSS was reconstituted and on the
1990 election
won several seats in the
Croatian Parliament
. They remained in opposition until the
2000 elections
when they received three ministerial portfolios as part of their participation in the winning
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
-led coalition.
On elections 2000 HSS led center coalition alongside IDS-HNS-LS and Coalition won 25 seats in parliament with 17 seats for HSS (16 domestic and one minority seat).
After the elections HSS formed coalition with SDP and had three ministers in government (education, agriculture and entrepreneurship), vice president of government and
Speaker of Croatian Parliament
,
Zlatko Tom?i?
.
On local elections 2001. HSS achieved its best results ever and won 8 out of 21 county prefects (?upan) and lot of municipalities and towns and became party which was second in number of local elected officials.
Today, the HSS considers itself among other center European political parties that advocate pro-agrarian policies and greater
economic interventionism
by the state. On social matters the HSS is largely conservative, supporting a Christian-based morality in public life. HSS is an associate member of the
European People's Party
(EPP).
At the
elections in November 2003
, the party won 7.2% of the popular vote and 10 out of 151 seats (nine domestic seats and one minority seat).
Before the
2007 parliamentary elections
, HSS announced a coalition with opposition parties
Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar
and
Croatian Social Liberal Party
. The coalition received 6.5% of the popular vote and 8 out of 153 seats (six for HSS itself). After elections they became part of
Ivo Sanader
's governing coalition and received two ministerial portfolios (regional development and tourism), vicepresident of government and vicepresident of Parliament.
On
2011 parliamentary elections
party score worst result in party's history receiving only one parliamentary seat and 3% of popular vote.
Party convention 28 January 2012 elected
Branko Hrg
as new president.
In 2014 Croatian Peasant Party in coalition with
Croatian Democratic Union
won one seat in European Parliament ?
Marijana Petir
. However, on 6 June 2017 Petir was expelled from Croatian Peasant Party, which left the party without seats in European Parliament.
[31]
Election results
[
edit
]
Parliamentary
[
edit
]
The following is a summary of HSS's results in parliamentary elections for the
Croatian parliament
. The "Total votes" and "Percentage" columns include sums of votes won by pre-election coalitions HSS had been part of. After
preferential votes were introduced
into the electoral system, the total votes column includes the statistic of the sum of votes given to HSS candidates on the coalition lists. The "Total seats" column includes sums of seats won by HSS in election constituencies plus representatives of ethnic minorities affiliated with HSS.
Election
|
In coalition with
|
Votes won
|
Percentage
|
Seats won
|
Change
|
Government
|
(Coalition totals)
|
(HSS only)
|
1992
|
None
|
111,869
|
4.25
|
|
New
|
Opposition
|
1995
|
HNS
-
IDS
?
HKDU
?
SBHS
|
441,390
|
18.26
|
|
7
|
Opposition
|
2000
|
HNS
?
IDS
?
LS
?
ASH
|
432,527
|
14.70
|
|
7
|
Government
|
2003
|
None
|
177,359
|
7.20
|
|
7
|
Opposition
|
2007
|
HSLS
-
PGS
|
161,814
|
6.50
|
|
4
|
Government
|
2011
|
None
|
71,450
|
3.00
|
|
5
|
Opposition
|
2015
|
Patriotic Coalition
|
744,507
(23,423
[32]
)
|
33.46
|
|
0
|
Government support
|
2016
|
People's Coalition
|
636,602
(33,514)
|
33.82
|
|
4
|
Opposition
|
2020
|
Restart Coalition
|
414,615
|
24.87
|
|
3
|
Opposition
|
2024
|
Rivers of Justice
|
538,748
|
25.40
|
|
1
|
TBA
|
Presidential
[
edit
]
The following is a list of presidential candidates who were endorsed by HSS.
European Parliament
[
edit
]
Party presidents
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Biondich, Mark
(2000).
Stjepan Radi?, the Croat Peasant Party, and the Politics of Mass Mobilization, 1904-1928
. Toronto, Canada:
University of Toronto Press
.
ISBN
0-8020-4727-0
.
- Newman, John Paul (2015).
Yugoslavia in the Shadow of War: Veterans and the Limits of State Building, 1903?1945
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
9781107070769
.
- Ramet, Sabrina P.
(2007).
"Vladko Ma?ek and the Croatian Peasant Defence in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia"
.
Contemporary European History
.
16
(2). Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press
: 215?231.
doi
:
10.1017/S0960777307003803
.
ISSN
0960-7773
.
JSTOR
20081354
.
S2CID
162808232
.
- Tomasevich, Jozo
(2001).
War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941?1945: Occupation and Collaboration
. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-8047-0857-9
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Croatian political parties during SFR Yugoslavia (1945?1991)
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Official
| |
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Unofficial
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