Seven years after it was formed, the anti-establishment Zivi Zid (Living Shield) party is today presenting its political platform and the experts who created it. It is the first congress of this party ever.

Berto Salaj, one of the authors of a book about populism, called “Good, Bad or Mean,” told N1 that Zivi Zid was organizing the congress with 2,000 participants to show critics that it is a serious party.

So far, he said, Zivi Zid was just criticizing mainstream parties.

“They want to show that they are a serious party and not just a populist option,” he said, adding that their rise is not a surprise, having in mind what is happening all over the world.

However, Salaj said that analysis show that Zivi Zid was, in fact, a typical populist option which is advocating the idea that the political elite has destroyed Croatia and that “they are the only ones representing the people.”

In general, it is political anti-elitism and “that is a sign of populist behavior,” he said.

The centre-right Bridge of the Independent Lists, MOST, was the populist option for a while but was pushed away from that position by Zivi Zid, he said. MOST’s leadership has a conservative world view, he said and described the party as a version of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, just more fair and seeking reforms.

Zivi Zid attracts young people who are not burdened by the world views of older parties such as the HDZ or the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Salaj said.

He also pointed out that he does not believe Zivi Zid could ever grow so big that it could form a government alone. Mainstream parties do not respond to the needs of citizens and Zivi Zid could be something that would make sure the political elites do not stray away too much from people’s interests, Salaj said.