Former social democratic prime minister, Zoran Milanović, won the 2019 presidential election. In January 2020, Croatia took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The 2020 parliamentary election resulted in the victory of the ruling center-right Croatian Democratic Union and a new governing majority. The election also resulted in the marginalization of the far-right.
Despite the economic downturn created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increase in government spending, there has been no massive rise in unemployment. Prices and the inflation rate have remained stable, and interest rates continue to decline. However, the pandemic revealed the overreliance of the economy and public revenues on tourism.
The government has continued a balanced budget policy yet has failed to implement large, structural reforms, like in public administration or health care. Corruption, clientelism, and conflicts of interest in public administration are especially evident in national and local public procurement processes.
