Croatian Party of Rights
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The Croatian Party of Rights ( hr, Hrvatska stranka prava or HSP) is an extra-parliamentary
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
political party in Croatia. The "right(s)" in the party's name refer to the legal and moral reasons that justify the independence and autonomy of Croatia. While the HSP has retained its old name, today it is a far-right party with an ethnocentric platform.


Founding

The HSP, along with other modern Croatian parties (such as
Croatian Pure Party of Rights Croatian Pure Party of Rights ( hr, Hrvatska čista stranka prava or HČSP) is a far-right political party in Croatia founded in 1992. The party claims to be an ideological descendant of the identically named right-wing Anti-Serb sentiment, Serb ...
), claim legacy to the
Party of Rights The Party of Rights ( hr, Stranka prava) was a Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influenti ...
which was founded in 1861 and existed until 1929.


During the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995)

A group of people restored Croatian Party of Rights on 25 February 1990.
Dobroslav Paraga Dobroslav Paraga (born 9 December 1960) is a Croatian right-wing politician. He was first president of the Croatian Party of Rights, after the party was reestablished in 1991. In 1993 he founded the Croatian Party of Rights 1861 following a po ...
, the first president of the party acknowledged the historical bounds with the older
Party of Rights The Party of Rights ( hr, Stranka prava) was a Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influenti ...
. Soon, the party faced splits. Krešimir Pavelić, a former secretary of the party, became president of the new Croatian Democratic Party of Rights. Some other ''rights'' parties that claimed origin from old Party of Rights appeared. Croatian Party of Rights did not participate in the Croatian parliamentary election in 1990, which helped Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) to win more votes. HSP's political appeal and strength were at peak during the 1991–92 when
Croatian Defence Forces The Croatian Defence Forces ( hr, Hrvatske obrambene snage or HOS) were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS ...
, a military wing of the HSP, took heavy burden of defence of Croatia. Paraga was the champion of the Croatian will for freedom and independence. Paraga harshly and openly criticized
Franjo Tudjman Franjo is a Croatian masculine given name. In Croatia, the name Franjo was among the top ten most common masculine given names in the decades up to 1949. Notable people with the name include: *Franjo Arapović (born 1965), former Croatian basketb ...
for his cooperation with Serbia and the conflict with
Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The HSP used the writings of
Ante Starčević Ante Starčević (; 23 May 1823 – 28 February 1896) was a Croatian politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of his people to self-determination. As an important memb ...
and the writings of Ustaša ideologues such as
Mile Budak Mile Budak (30 August 1889 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and writer best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian fascist Ustaša movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II in Yugoslavia ...
to argue that Tudjman was not radical enough in his defence of the Croatian state. The ruling HDZ cooperated with the HSP until the fall of
Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...
, after which the leaders of the HSP and HOS were imprisoned for "terrorist activities" and "obstruction of democratically elected government". Paraga and the Croatian Party of Rights appeared in front of a military tribunal on allegations of insubordination. They were later released. Paraga's main political and electoral platform was the creation of a
Greater Croatia Greater Croatia ( hr, Velika Hrvatska) is a term applied to certain currents within Croatian nationalism. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Croatian people, emphasising the ethnicity of those Croats living outside Croatia. I ...
and the total defeat of the Serbian aggressor. In the Croatian parliamentary election held in 1992, HDZ lost 7% of votes in favor of the Party of Rights. One of the party's first post-communist leaders,
Ante Paradžik Ante Paradžik (10 February 1943 – 21 September 1991) was a Croatian right-wing politician and communist-era dissident. Paradžik was one of the founders of the Croatian Party of Rights. Early life Paradžik was born in 1943 in Ljubuški. H ...
was a political dissident during the former Yugoslavia when he was a student leader of the Croatian Spring, but he was killed during the war by assassination. Paraga found himself in a power struggle with his deputy, Anto Đapić. Paraga and Đapić fought a legal battle for the right to use the party name, a dispute that Paraga eventually lost. Paraga later formed the
Croatian Party of Rights 1861 Croatian Party of Rights 1861 ( hr, Hrvatska stranka prava 1861 or HSP 1861) is a political party in Croatia. It was founded in 1995 as a splinter party of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP, itself founded in 1990) following the removal of Croat ...
(HSP 1861) but by this time he was already politically marginalized. On 17 September 1993, the leaders of the three ''rights'' parties held a meeting in
Kutina Kutina is a town in central Croatia, the largest settlement in the hilly region of Moslavina, in the Sisak-Moslavina County. The town proper has a population of 13,735 (2011), while the total municipal population is 22,760. The settlement of Kut ...
and began preparations for a new union on a broad common ''rights'' program. The initiative for the meeting came from the new leaders of the HSP, Anto Đapić and Boris Kandare, who invited leaders of the
Croatian Pure Party of Rights Croatian Pure Party of Rights ( hr, Hrvatska čista stranka prava or HČSP) is a far-right political party in Croatia founded in 1992. The party claims to be an ideological descendant of the identically named right-wing Anti-Serb sentiment, Serb ...
and the Croatian National Democratic League but the meeting was unsuccessful, and those parties are still acting separately. During the parliamentary election in 1995, HSP lost popularity due to bad situation in the party in favor of HDZ.


Post Croatian War of Independence

The long-time president of modern HSP was Anto Đapić. His political reputation was severely tarnished after the media found out that he cheated to obtain his first post-graduate degree in law at the
University of Split The University of Split ( hr, Sveučilište u Splitu) is a university located in Split, Croatia. It was founded in 1974. and is organized in 13 faculties and 124 faculty programmes. As of 2009, a total of approximately 40,000 students have gradua ...
, in collusion with Boris Kandare, a senior member of his party and professor at the Law Faculty. He was also publicly accused of faking injuries to obtain the status of a war veteran. Despite these revelations, Đapić's career as head of the HSP was unaffected. Even after the party was left by many and it had terrible results (losing seven out of eight seats from 2003) on the Croatian elections in 2007, he remained as head of the party (he temporarily resigned, but in less than few weeks he has withdrawn his resignation). At the 2003 Croatian parliamentary election, the party – in an alliance with Međimurje Party (Međimurska stranka),
Zagorje Democratic Party Democratic Party of Zagorje ( hr, Zagorska demokratska stranka or ZDS) is a right-wing political party from Krapina-Zagorje and Varaždin counties in Croatia. Members: 1998 (5,250), 1999 (5,250), 2002 (5,500). ZDS was established on 5 February ...
(Zagorska demokratska stranka) and non-partisan Slaven Letica – won 6.4% of the popular vote and 8 out of 151 seats, all for the HSP and Slaven Letica. In August 2005, the Croatian Democratic Republican Party ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska republikanska stranka, HDRS), a right-wing political party established on 21 October 2000, by merger of three smaller right-wing parties, merged into the Croatian Party of Rights. The first president of HDRS was Joško Kovač. In September 2007, prominent members Miroslav Rožić and Tonči Tadić left the party. In November at the 2007 Croatian parliamentary election, the party suffered a setback, as it won 3.5% of the popular vote and a single seat in Sabor. After the
2009 Croatian local elections The 2009 Croatian local elections were held on 17 May, with the second round held on 31 May where necessary. The elections elected a total of 866 members of county assemblies and 51 members of the City Assembly of the City of Zagreb, as well as ...
, which weren't particularly successful for the party either, turmoil in the party leadership escalated when a faction led by former representatives Ruža Tomašić and Pero Kovačević formed a splinter "
Croatian Party of Rights dr. Ante Starčević Croatian may refer to: *Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , ...
". At the party convention held on 7 November 2009, Đapić officially stepped down, allowing a new leader to be elected by party members.
Daniel Srb Daniel Srb (; born 23 November 1964) is a Croatian right-wing politician and president of the Croatian Party of Rights. Early life and education Srb was born in Osijek on 23 November 1964. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering and Shi ...
defeated two other candidates to become the new president of the party. Croatian Party of Rights announced that during the Croatian parliamentary election in 2011 holders of their list in VII Electoral District (primary Lika and Gorski Kotar) would be exclusively women. The party, for the first time, didn't win any parliamentary seats in the 2011 Croatian parliamentary election, which led to a crisis in Party of Rights; leaders of the
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
n branch of the party called for resignation of honorary president Anto Đapić. The president of the HSP in
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
, Hrvoje Tomašević, asked for Đapić's resignation from politics and election in the party. He was supported by the president of the HSP in
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
, Denis Šešelj. This appeal resulted in Đapić's resignation from party politics. On 28 January 2013, the Presidency of the Croatian Party of Rights expelled its former honorary president Đapić from the party. Srb, the party's president, said that Đapić expelled as he broke his promise that he wouldn't be active in politics. Đapić said that he was shocked by the decision.


Election history


Legislative

The following is a summary of the party's results in legislative elections for the
Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sab ...
. The "Total votes" and "Percentage" columns include sums of votes won by pre-election coalitions HSP had been part of and the "Total seats" column includes sums of seats won by HSP in election constituencies plus representatives of ethnic minorities affiliated with HSP.


Presidential

The following is a list of presidential candidates endorsed by HSP in elections for
President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the President of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the ...
.


European Parliament


See also

*
Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( hr, Hrvatska stranka prava Bosne i Hercegovine or HSP BiH) is an extra-parliamentary party in Bosnia and Herzegovina that represents the ideology of Ante Starčević. The main goals of the ...
, the sister party in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


HSP Zagreb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian Party Of Rights 1990 establishments in Croatia Anti-Serbian sentiment Conservative parties in Croatia Croatian nationalist parties Euronat members Eurosceptic parties in Croatia Far-right politics in Croatia National conservative parties Nationalist parties in Croatia Political parties established in 1990 Right-wing populism in Croatia Social conservative parties