Civic Liberal Alliance

The Civic Liberal Alliance (Croatian: Građansko-liberalni savez, abbr. GLAS - lit. Voice/Vote) is a liberal political party in Croatia.^[4][5] The party was founded by four former Croatian People's Party (HNS) MPs led by Anka Mrak Taritaš who were dissatisfied with HNS entering a coalition with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and supporting the cabinet of Andrej Plenković since June 2017.^[6]

Civic Liberal Alliance Građansko-liberalni savez
Abbreviation	GLAS
President	Anka Mrak Taritaš
Vice Presidents	Goran Beus Richembergh Diana Topčić Rosenberg[1]
Founded	9 July 2017 (2017-07-09)
Split from	Croatian People's Party
Headquarters	Zagreb, Croatia
Ideology	Liberalism[2] Social liberalism[3] Pro-Europeanism[2]
Political position	Centre to centre-left
National affiliation	Rivers of Justice (since 2020)
European affiliation	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (affiliate member)
Colours	Light blue
Sabor	1 / 151
European Parliament	0 / 12
County Prefects	0 / 21
Mayors	0 / 128
Website
glas.com.hr
Politics of Croatia Political parties Elections

History

The Party's founding congress was held on 9 July 2017, while it was officially registered with the Ministry of Public Administration on 26 July 2017.^[5][7]

Glas automatically became a parliamentary party with four MPs, making it the fifth largest party in the country in terms of parliamentary representation. In addition, Jozo Radoš also left HNS and joined Glas, so the party also had one MEP. Radoš sat with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group.

Another notable member is Vesna Pusić.

On 1 December 2017, the party was admitted into the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party as an affiliate member.^[8]

The party was one of the founding members of the Amsterdam Coalition, an electoral alliance of seven Croatian liberal political parties.^[9] The alliance was founded on 8 December 2018.^[9]

Ideology

Party president Mrak-Taritaš described Glas as "a modern, progressive, trans-ideological party in the centre-left, acceptable to people who are liberal, social-liberal and social-democratic." Emphasis is placed on individual freedoms and rights, stable institutions and diversity as a comparative advantage.^[10]

Party stands for:^[11][12]

• the right of women to freely choose on abortion,
• extension of LGBT rights and civil rights protections,
• the right to vote at the local elections at the age of 16,
• anti-fascism as the foundation of modern Croatia,
• separation of church and state, strengthening secularization and revision of all four concordats,
• comprehensive curriculum reform,
• removal of parafiscal tax,
• public administration reform,
• a stable judiciary,
• decentralisation.

Election results

Legislative

Election	In coalition with	Votes won	Percentage	Seats won	Change
		(Coalition totals)		(GLAS only)
2020	Restart Coalition	414,615	24.87%	1 / 151	New
2024	Rivers of Justice	538,748	25.40%	1 / 151	0

European Parliament

Election	List leader	Coalition	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	EP Group
			Coalition		GLAS
2019	Valter Flego	Amsterdam Coalition	55,806	5.19 (#5)	0 / 12	New	–
2024	Biljana Borzan	Rivers of Justice	192,859	25.62 (#2)	0 / 12	0

References

1. "Počela osnivačka skupina GLAS-a" [Founding congress of GLAS has started]. Tportal.hr. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
2. "Croatia – Parties". Europe Elects. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
3. "The political framework of Croatia". nordeatrade.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
4. "FOTO: U DVORANI 'WOW' OSNOVANA STRANKA 'GLAS' Za šeficu izabrana Anka Mrak Taritaš, evo tko je sve iz drugih stranaka došao na konvenciju" [Photo: GLAS party founded in the "WOW" hall. Anka Mrak Taritaš chosen as leader, here's who else was at the congress] (in Croatian). Jutarnji.hr. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
5. Petra Mlačić/Vijesti.hr (9 July 2017). "Bivši HNS-ovci osnovali GLAS: 'Želimo okupiti ljude kojima su se izbori i politika zgadili'" (in Croatian). Vijesti.rtl.hr. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
6. Mihaljević, Jerko (14 June 2017). "Anka Mrak Taritaš upravo je objavila da će s bivšim HNS-ovcima osnovati novu stranku" [Anka Mrak Taritaš just announced that she will found a new party with former HNS members]. Telegram.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 May 2019.
7. "Građansko-liberalni savez - Registar političkih stranaka u Republici Hrvatskoj" [Civic Liberal Alliance - Registry of political parties in the Republic of Croatia]. Ministry of Public Administration (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
8. "ALDE welcomes new member parties". Aldeparty.eu. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
9. "Formalizirana Amsterdamska koalicija: 'Vrlo se jasno suprotstavljamo HDZ-u i onima desnije od njega'" [Amsterdam Coalition formalised: 'We clearly oppose HDZ and the ones more to the right than them']. Net.hr (in Croatian). 8 December 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
10. "MRAK TARITAŠ U AKCIJI Bivši HNS-ovci sutra i formalno osnivaju novu stranku, otkrili na koga ciljaju" [Mrak Taritaš in action. Former HNS members formally establish new party, reveal who they are targeting]. Novilist.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
11. "Mrak Taritaš i disidenti iz HNS-a osnovali novu stranku GLAS, neizvjesno hoće li im se pridružiti i Vesna Pusić". Jutarnji.hr. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
12. "Osnovan Građansko-liberalni savez (GLAS)" [Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS) established]. Glas Istre (in Croatian). Retrieved 19 January 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Croatian)