Uspon i pad ORaH-a

The research paper examines the trajectory of Održivi razvoj Hrvatske (ORaH), the first green party in Croatia, which saw its popularity peak at 16.8% in 2014 before collapsing to 0.6% by 2016. The author attributes this failure to a combination of strategic political errors—specifically the decision to support incumbent President Ivo Josipović—and internal structural weaknesses, including a 'top-down' organizational approach and a lack of grassroots infrastructure. The text concludes that while there is a growing appetite for green ideas in Croatia and Southeast Europe, future success for green parties depends on building stable bases through grassroots movements rather than relying on the charisma of a single leader.

• ORaH experienced a sharp rise in popularity, reaching a peak of 16.8% in October 2014, followed by a steep decline to 0.6% by 2016, effectively disappearing from the political scene.
• The party's initial growth was driven by general dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Zoran Milanović and the unpopularity of the HDZ, as well as the personal charisma of Mirela Holy.
• A critical strategic error occurred when the party decided not to run a candidate for the presidential elections and instead supported Ivo Josipović, which led the public to perceive ORaH as a satellite party of the SDP.
• Internal failures contributed to the party's collapse, including a complex organizational structure that hindered decision-making, a lack of financial resources, and a perception of elitism due to overly technical communication.
• The author argues that for green parties in Croatia and Eastern Europe to succeed, they must move away from the 'top-down' approach used by ORaH and instead emerge from grassroots movements to build a stable voter base.

APA

Popovic, M. (2016). Uspon i pad ORaH-a. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/uspon-i-pad-orah-a/

Chicago

Popovic, Marko. Uspon i pad ORaH-a. Green European Journal, 2016. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/uspon-i-pad-orah-a/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Popovic |first1=Marko |title=Uspon i pad ORaH-a |publisher=Green European Journal |date=1 September 2016 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/uspon-i-pad-orah-a/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{popovic2016uspon, author = {Popovic, Marko}, title = {{Uspon i pad ORaH-a}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/uspon-i-pad-orah-a/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }