Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Monday elected Jadranka
Kosor as the nation's first female prime minister, days after her
predecessor and mentor Ivo Sanader suddenly resigned - but few seem
to doubt that he continues to pull the strings.
The former journalist and Sanader's deputy took over on Saturday
as head of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), as with
the post of premier, with Sanader's strong backing.
Kosor, 56, takes the helm with the ruling coalition halfway
through its four-year term, as Croatia ran into a wall on its path to
European Union membership while bracing for an economic meltdown.
Croatia had its progress to EU blocked by Slovenia. The two
nations have been embroiled in a dispute over where their border on
the Adriatic coast, which has killed Sanader's plan of completing EU
talks in 2009.
In addition, heavily indebted Croatia is facing a hard time in the
second half of the year, as the global recession, a bad tourist
season and unsustainable spending converge.
Sanader's critics accuse him of manoeuvring Kosor to take the
political fallout of hard times instead of him - and keeping the door
open for his own return when better times are on the horizon.
In 2003, Kosor once called herself 'Sanader's closest associate.'
'Where he goes, I go,' she said. Now, on taking office she has
acknowledged having been handed a 'hot potato' but vowed to 'peel it
and turn it into potato salad, in a lady's way.'
Yet analysts in Croatia largely agree that Sanader plans to govern
from the sidelines, instead of withdrawing from politics as he said
he would, in his resignation announcement to an unsuspecting nation.
'It was a cunning move, to leave people speechless, stunned,' said
political analyst Damir Grubisa.
'But when you take a second look, you see that before leaving, he
configured the cabinet and the party leadership to continue ruling
from the shadows.
'Sanader left, but Sanader remained in full control.'
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