Croatian parliamentary election is culmination of longstanding rivalry between president, PM [Video]

Croatia is voting Wednesday in a parliamentary election after a campaign that centered on a bitter rivalry between the president and prime minister of the country.

The ballot pits the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, against an alliance of centrist and left-wing parties informally led by populist President Zoran Milanovic and his Social Democratic Party, or SDP.

The election is being held as Croatia, a European Union and NATO member, struggles with the highest inflation rate in the eurozone, a labor shortage, illegal migration and reports of widespread corruption.

CROATIA DISSOLVES PARLIAMENT AHEAD OF ELECTION SEASON

At stake in the race for Croatia’s 151-seat parliament isn’t just the Adriatic Sea country’s future domestic policies, but also the EU’s unity as it grapples with the instability from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

If the HDZ stays in power, the country would continue on a pro-Western course in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Success for SDP could …