(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is the country's most popular political organization by a small margin, according to a poll by Metron published in Vecernji List. 25.2 per cent of respondents would back the HDZ in next legislative ballot.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is second with 23.1 per cent, followed by the Croatian People's Party (HNS) with 6.9 per cent, the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) with four per cent, and the Croatian Right's Party (HSP) with 3.8 per cent.

In November 2003, Croatian voters renewed their House of Representatives. The nationalist HDZ—led by Ivo Sanader—garnered 33.9 per cent of the vote and 66 seats. Sanader formed a coalition government with the Democratic Centre (DC).

In January 2005, Stjepan Mesic of the HNS won Croatia's presidency with 65.93 per cent of the vote in a run-off against Jadranka Kosor of the HDZ.

In June, Zoran Milanovic, a young politician who had only been in the party for a short time, won the SDP's internal election and will lead the political organization into the 2007 ballot.

In early August, Croatia celebrated the 12th anniversary of "Operation Storm" or Oluja, a military action that saw the Croats and the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina defeating the Croatian Serb army. The operation provoked the massive exile of about 200,000 Serbs. Both Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunika and Serbian president Boris Tadic condemned Croatia's ceremonies.

Croatian prime minister Sanader defended the celebrations, saying, "After Oluja, a number of individual crimes took place that need to be processed, but there is no collective guilt, and those individual crimes cannot put any shade on Oluja. The sooner Croatia enters the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the stronger its positions will be, and then nobody will be able to impose their truths and change its history."

The legislative election is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 25.

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