Unequal Democracy Croatia

A new study titled “Democracy of Inequality – Who is (Not) in the Parliament?”, presented in the Croatian Parliament by the SDP parliamentary group in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), reveals that the Croatian Parliament fails to reflect the social diversity of Croatia. The analysis, authored by Ivan Puh of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Croatia and Slovenia Office, shows significant underrepresentation of women, young people, and the working class, and dominance of middle-aged, highly educated male career politicians.

Key Findings:

• Demographic profile:
  The typical MP is a 52-year-old man, with a master’s degree in economics, technical sciences, or education, often a former mayor or deputy mayor, and affiliated with an older political party (liberal, center-left, or center-right).
  78 MPs are classified as career politicians with limited non-political work experience.
• Age representation:
  • Only 1 MP (Armin Hodžić, 29, independent) represents the 18–29 age group, though this group should ideally have 25 MPs based on population data.
  • The 45–59 age group is overrepresented with 82 MPs (ideal 47).
  • The 60+ group holds 28 seats (ideal 34).
  • The center-left caucus has the youngest average age (49), while the Greens and Left have the oldest (56).
• Gender imbalance:
  • The Parliament includes 102 men and 48 women, lacking 28 women to reach parity.
  • Women are most represented in center-left parties (19 MPs), followed by center-right (13), Greens and Left (8), Liberals (4), and far-right (4).
  • Only the Greens and Left have a female majority (80%).
  • Sabina Glasovac is the only female Vice President of Parliament, and Croatia has never had a female Speaker.
  • On average, female MPs are better educated than their male counterparts: 73% hold a master’s degree and 17% a doctorate, compared to 61% and 14% among men.
• Education:
  • 65% of MPs have master’s degrees, 15% hold doctorates, and 11% have only secondary education.
  • The overall level of education is slightly lower than in the previous (10th) convocation due to fewer doctorates.
• Social class and occupation:
  • 115 MPs come from the upper service class (e.g., managers, professors, lawyers), 18 from the lower service class, 6 are small business owners, and only 8 MPs belong to the working class.
  • The working class and non-qualified (NKV) workers are practically absent from Parliament.

Institutional and Expert Reactions:

• Michael Jennewein (FES Democracy of the Future) emphasized that underrepresentation of women and marginalized groups is a global issue, influencing policy visibility and decision-making.
• Goran Čular (Faculty of Political Science) noted a trend toward professionalization of Parliament, with more mayors and local officials becoming MPs. He controversially proposed reducing MP salaries to €1,200 to attract more working-class candidates.
• Ana Marija Ferenčak (political scientist) and former MP Mirela Holy argued for electoral quotas and the zip system, though Holy stressed the need for legal enforcement since parties often prefer paying fines over implementing quotas.
• SDP MP Ivan Račan highlighted practical issues with the zip system but supported the principle of greater inclusion.

The study concludes that Croatia’s Parliament remains male-dominated, middle-aged, and elitist, with little room for young people, working-class citizens, or women to participate equally. It calls for systemic reforms, including quotas, enforced list parity, and greater inclusion mechanisms, to ensure Parliament reflects the true structure of Croatian society.

Media coverage:

Studija: U zadnjem sazivu Sabora nedovoljno mladih, žena i radničke klase · HINA.hr

U Saboru nedostaje žena, nema mladih, a radnička klasa je nevidljiva - Večernji.hr

DEMOKRACIJA NEJEDNAKOSTI Poznati politolog ima izvrsnu ideju: Evo kolike bi trebale biti plaće zastupnika | NACIONAL.HR | News portal najutjecajnijeg političkog tjednika

Studija: U saboru su žene i mladi podzastupljeni, a radnička klasa nevidljiva

Studija o sastavu Sabora: Politolog predložio smanjenje plaće na 1200 eura - Vijesti iz Hrvatske, regiona i svijeta - N1 info

Saborom dominiraju muškarci, a nitko u njemu ne predstavlja radničku klasu: Istraživač predlaže rješenje - tportal

U zadnjem sazivu Hrvatskog sabora nedovoljno mladih, žena i radničke klase | Radiotelevizija Herceg-Bosne

Studija: U saboru su žene i mladi podzastupljeni, a radnička klasa nevidljiva – NOVINE.hr