Centre (Croatian political party)

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]

Centre
Centar
PresidentIvica Puljak[1]
Vice presidentsMarin Račić[1]
Lana Pavić[1]
Founded2013 (as Citizens' initiative)
2015 (as Political party)[2]
HeadquartersSplit, Croatia[3]
IdeologySocial liberalism[4][5]
Economic liberalism[4][5]
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours  Blue,   Magenta
Before 2020:
  Dark blue,   Orange
SloganParty for the Croatian future
Sabor
1 / 151
European Parliament
0 / 11
County Prefects
0 / 21
Website
hrvatskaucentru.hr

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, the party Pametno changed name to the Centre.

History
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'.[7]

Pametno participated in the 2015 parliamentary election in the 10th electoral district but did not win any seats in the Parliament.[2] 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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

In the extraordinary elections in June 2022, mayor Ivica Puljak confirmed his mandate, and 15 councilors from the Center party entered the city council.

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.

Election Coalition Votes won PercentageSeats won Change Government
(Coalition totals)(Coalition totals)
2015 — 6,001 0.27%
0 / 151
 Steady no seats
2016 Za grad 38,812 2.06%
0 / 151
 Steady no seats
2020 Fokus,

Stranka s imenom i prezimenom

 66,399 3.98%
3 / 151
 Increase3 opposition

References
  1. "Ivica Puljak izabran za predsjednika stranke Centar". N1 (in Croatian). 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  2. "PAMETNO - BIOGRAFIJA Marijana Puljak, predsjednica stranke Pametno". Dnevnik.hr. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  3. "Statut političke stranke Pametno". Narodne novine. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  4. "Puljak: Želimo se maknuti od '41., '71. i '91. godine". N1. 29 October 2015.
  5. Damir Petranović (26 March 2017). "'Spavam 3-4 sata, više otkidam od obitelji nego od banke, a nisam ni lijevo ni desno'". tportal.hr.
  6. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Croatia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  7. "Osnovana stranka Pametno :: Radio Split". Radio.hrt.hr. 14 June 2015. 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. Hina (17 January 2017). "Marijana Puljak kandidatkinja stranke Pametno za splitsku gradonačelnicu". Jutarnji list. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  11. "ALDE welcomes new member parties | ALDE Party". Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  12. "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.
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