But the Croatian political opposition is fragmented, and analysts say it is not clear if the opposition will be able to decide on a single candidate to run in presidential elections against HDZ's candidate. Western governments favor Croatia's foreign minister, Mate Granic, a member of the HDZ, who is nonetheless considered a moderate. Granic faces opposition from both hard-liners within the ranks of the HDZ, as well as from two major opposition political blocks. An extreme right party, the Croatian Party of Rights, is expected to draw 5 percent of the vote. Analysts say HDZ has dropped in the polls because Croats are frustrated with the country's stagnant economy and with the party's corruption.
Unemployment is a big one, pensions are a big one.
Once Croatia earned millions of dollars from Western European tourists attracted to its splendid Adriatic coastline and medieval cities of Dubrovnik and Split. But the wars that plagued the Balkans have almost destroyed Croatia's tourism industry, even as they have entirely restored Dubrovnik. This past spring, NATO bombed Montenegro, just down the coast from Dubrovnik, keeping tourists away for another summer. One of the most hopeful opportunities presented by the end of the hard-line Tudjman era is that it will help bring moderates to power not just in Zagreb but also in neighboring Serbia. In his life, Tudjman achieved the first goal.