The Key of Croatia explained

The Key of Croatia
Native Name:Ključ Hrvatske
Abbreviation:KLJUČ
Foundation:2 June 2011
Membership Year:2023
Membership:12,580[1]
Headquarters:Savska cesta 41
Zagreb, Croatia
Country:Croatia
Founder:Ivan Pernar
Dissolved:3 March 2024
Colours: Gold
Grey
Merged:Law and Justice
European:European Alliance for Freedom and Democracy
Five Star Direct Democracy (2019)
Europarl:Non-Inscrits
Leader1 Title:President
Leader1 Name:Ivan Vilibor Sinčić

The Key of Croatia (Croatian: Ključ Hrvatske) was a populist political party in Croatia.

Until the party changed its name on 21 May 2022, it was known as Human Shield (Croatian: Živi zid,) and was formed out of an anti-eviction group of the same name. The group opposed foreclosures by occupying property and forming a "human shield", hence the name.[2] [3] [4] [5]

The party was founded on 2 June 2011 as the Alliance for Change (Croatian: Savez za promjene).[6] and operated under that name until it became Human Shield in 2014 ahead of the 2014–15 presidential election, supporting the candidacy of Ivan Vilibor Sinčić.

The party refused to be characterized as being left or right and claimed adherence to humanist values.[7]

On February 3, 2024, the party merged with the Let's Change Croatia party and the independent list of Mislav Kolakušić into the Law and Justice. The party's previous president, Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, became the vice president of the newly formed option.

Ideology and principles

The party has been described as having "praised the writings of David Icke" and "pushed a number of conspiracy theories about chemtrails and vaccinations".[8] An article for the magazine Jacobin by Juraj Katalenac described the party as a populist group that "is often portrayed as part of the left, but it offers more conspiracies theories than progressive policies."[9]

The party believes that the current monetary system is unfair and unsustainable because it is based on money as debt, i.e. all the money in circulation comes as a loan with an interest rate that never went into circulation (only principal did), which is, according to the party, the cause of many evictions in Croatia.

The party stands for:

Electoral results

Presidential elections

Presidency of Croatia
Election yearCandidateFirst RoundSecond Round
  1. of

overall votes

% ofoverall vote
  1. of

overall votes

% ofoverall vote
2014–15Ivan Vilibor Sinčić293,57016.4 (#3)
2019–20endorsed Mislav Kolakušić111,9165.95 (#4)

Parliament (Sabor)

See also: Sabor.

ElectionIn coalition withVotes wonPercentageSeats wonChangeGovernment
2011 A-HSS, DPS15,3790.630
2015 None94,8774.24 (#4) 1
2016 Let's Change Croatia, Youth Action, Alphabet of Democracy, HDSS, Međimurje Party117,2086.23 (#4) 7
2020 (July)(as 'Enough of Robbery')SIP, NLSP, Let's Change Croatia, HSS SR, HSSČKŠ, ZSZ, Youth Action37,6282.26 (#7) 8

European Parliament

ElectionIn coalition withVotes wonPercentageSeats wonChange
April 2013ASH-DSŽ-SUH6,3910.86% (#14)
May 2014None 4,3130.47 (#10)
May 2019None60,8475.7 (#5) 1

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 10 October 2023. Izvješće o obavljenoj financijskoj reviziji - Živi zid za 2022. . State Audit Office. hr. 2 January 2024.
  2. Web site: Prelec . Tena . 7–9 November 2015 . Croatian elections: a final look at the parties and the campaign . EuroPP – European Politics and Policy . London School of Economics and Political Science . Comment. News: Neubert . Nils . 28 December 2014 . Croatians disillusioned with politics - and the EU . DW .
  3. Zulianello . Mattia . 2020 . Varieties of Populist Parties and Party Systems in Europe: From State-of-the-Art to the Application of a Novel Classification Scheme to 66 Parties in 33 Countries . Government and Opposition . 55 . 2 . 327–347 . 10.1017/gov.2019.21 . free . 200013354. 11368/3001222 . free .
  4. Web site: 2014 . Year of registration . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150912042424/http://www.zivizid.hr/o-zivom-zidu-2/ . 12 September 2015 . 27 August 2015 . Živi zid . hr . dmy-all.
  5. Web site: 21 May 2022 . Sinčić: Živi zid mijenja ime u Ključ Hrvatske . Sinčić: The Human Shield changes its name to The Key of Croatia . 30 May 2022 . N1 . hr.
  6. Web site: Središnji državni ured za razvoj digitalnog društva - Političke stranke i izbori . 2017-04-24 . Digured.hr . hr.
  7. Web site: Statut . Statute . 5 January 2023 . Ključ Hrvatske.
  8. News: Oltermann . Philip . Walker . Shaun . Giuffrida . Angela . 27 May 2019 . An NBA star, a TV chef and a comedian: meet some of the new MEPs . The Guardian . 14 March 2022.
  9. News: Katalenac . Juraj . 15 December 2016 . Neoliberalism in the Rose Garden . Jacobin . 14 March 2022.