Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic's election victory is looming. According to opinion polls conducted after the elections, his conservative party is leading. The Social Democrats became the second strongest force. Both need coalition partners.

It is likely that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's ruling conservatives will be able to maintain their leadership position in the Croatian parliamentary elections.

According to the post-election poll, Plenkovic's party will be the strongest force. Accordingly, the ruling conservative party (HDZ) can count on 58 seats in parliament. They were followed by the SPD and the SPD with 44 seats. The right-wing populist “Homeland Movement” party came in third place, winning 13 seats.

HDZ and SDP will be needed Alliance partner

To obtain a majority, 76 seats in the Croatian Parliament are needed. Both the Social Democrats and the Croatian Democratic Union Party will need coalition partners to form the government. The country's president, Zoran Milanovic, announced that he would give the mandate to form the government to whoever can obtain 76 votes in Parliament.

The conservative Most party and the green leftist Mozimo party refuse to form a coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union Party. However, it is possible to form a coalition with the right-wing populist Homeland Movement (Domovinski Bockert). According to the current poll, even their votes will not be enough to obtain a majority.

Extreme hatred during the election campaign

The election campaign was characterized by a duel between the two most important political figures in Croatian domestic politics and their mutual hatred: Prime Minister and HDZ leader Plenković on the one hand and President Milanović on the other.

Milanovic is one of Plenkovic's harshest critics. The very popular politician is a fierce populist whose positions fluctuate between left and right, sometimes flipping 180 degrees within a few days.

Plenković – Strong, pragmatic politician

His opponent, Plenkovic, is considered a moderate within the ranks of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union Party, parts of which act in a nationalist manner. The Prime Minister is a pragmatic power politician. This has made him compatible so far, even with coalition partners who are not necessarily ideologically close to the HDZ, such as representatives of the Serb and Italian minorities.

The participation rate in the elections was high. By 4:30 p.m., 50.6% of voters had voted. This is more than the number who voted by the end of the 2020 election.

Shortly before the hearing in U.S. congress Regarding the safety of Boeing aircraft, a key witness called for all 787 Dreamliners to be temporarily withdrawn from service worldwide. Sam Salehpour, a Boeing engineer who turned to the US aviation authority as an informant, warned NBC News that the long-haul passenger plane could collapse and „fall to the ground.” Salehpour is scheduled to testify at a US Senate hearing on Wednesday.

The engineer's claims were confirmed in a report last week The New York Times became public. He accuses the American company of ignoring his repeated serious warnings about safety and quality control when assembling the 777 and 787 models. According to his statement, Boeing Fuselage parts are assembled incorrectly, which may shorten the life of the aircraft. Boeing denied these allegations.

The company rejected these accusations. Chief engineer Steve Chisholm said 671 of the type had completed inspections after six years of operation. No problems were found with any aircraft. The 787, in which the stress resulting from 165,000 flights from 2010 to 2015 was simulated, showed no signs of physical stress on the fuselage. The results of the investigations were approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The director of the aircraft manufacturer, Lisa Fall, said that Boeing was very careful when developing the 787. The specifications for the distance between the parts of the fuselage were set at 0.127 mm – which is approximately the thickness of a human hair – because it is the first aircraft with a fuselage made of composite materials. She added that through more data, it was found that larger distances were also permitted, referring to inspection data. New production methods did not lead to problems for the 777 either.

Salehpour also accuses Boeing of making threats

Salehpour also accused Boeing of pressuring him despite protests to the contrary. Salehpour told NBC Television that he faced retaliation from Boeing. Among other things, he was subjected to threats and exclusion from meetings after he raised concerns about vulnerability issues.

In January, Boeing was involved in an accident in which a 737-9 MAX lost part of its fuselage in flight. There were no serious injuries among the more than 170 passengers. According to previous investigations by the NTSB, four anchor bolts were missing from the broken portion of the fuselage. All other aircraft of the type were initially grounded for several weeks, but were allowed to fly again after inspections.

The company has since come under criticism and faces demands to improve quality controls. Boeing must submit a detailed plan to the FAA. The authority also prevents the expansion of production of the 737 series. This issue is now scheduled to be discussed in the US Senate.

Salehpour worked as an engineer at Boeing for more than a decade on the 787 and the 777, which is widely used for long-haul flights.