Croatia's president today called a snap parliamentary election for September 11, a vote held after the fragile right-wing government fell last month over a conflict of interest affair.
The election in the European Union's newest member comes less than a year since the last one in November, where no clear winner emerged. A barely-functioning ruling coalition followed.
It comes at a difficult time for Croatia, which is hauling itself out of a six-year recession from 2009-2014.
The coalition's work was marred by constant disputes between the conservative HDZ party and its junior reformist partner Most, amid concerns over the country's shift to the right.
"President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has decided to call an early parliamentary election on September 11," a statement from her office said.
The decision comes a day after the parliament was formally dissolved.
The political crisis practically paralysed Croatia and halted reforms it badly needs to get the economy, one of the bloc's weakest, back on track.
The government wanted public debt, which has reached 87 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to start dropping this year, falling to 80 per cent of GDP by 2019 and was eyeing sweeping reforms, notably targeting the ailing health sector, pension system and state-run companies.
The turmoil was sparked when reports emerged of a business deal between a lobbyist for Hungary's oil group MOL and the wife of HDZ leader and powerful deputy prime minister Tomislav Karamarko.
MOL is currently in arbitration with Croatia over its national oil group INA, in which it is a main shareholder.
As the coalition partners traded calls for resignations, HDZ filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic, a former pharmaceutical executive with no party affiliation.
Oreskovic's government fell in mid-June which was immediately followed by Karamarko's resignation as the oil affair dented the party's image.
A national ethnics watchdog had ruled that Karamarko had a conflict of interest although he insisted it was a "fabricated affair".
The latest surveys give the main opposition Social Democrats (SDP), in power for four years until the November vote, a solid 10 percent lead over HDZ.
Analysts say the SDP, which was to sign a coalition deal with three junior partners later on Saturday, was likely to win the most votes.
On Sunday, HDZ is set to elect Andrej Plenkovic, a moderate deputy in the European Parliament, its new head in a bid to improve its image and possibly challenge SDP.
Plenkovic, a 46-year-old career diplomat who is untarnished by corruption affairs, has vowed that under his leadership HDZ would be a modern European conservative party.
Under his predecessor HDZ was criticised for fostering a growing climate of intolerance and a far-right surge in the country.
The September vote will be the former Yugoslav republic's first snap election since its 1991 independence.
