The turnout for the European Parliament elections in Croatia could be 50 percent, MEP Tonino Picula (SDP) said, noting that this would be a huge increase compared to the elections of five years ago.

The turnout in the last European elections was slightly less than 30 percent, the fourth worst in the EU. This was even an improvement compared to 2014, when only a quarter of voters participated in the European Parliament elections in Croatia.

Picula is now more optimistic. Since the last election, Croats’ “confidence in the EU has been slightly above the average” and they have already developed an awareness of EU membership due to the introduction of the euro and entry into the Schengen area, he said at a panel organised by Croatian Radio.

He believes part of the reason for his claim is the paradox that those who are more critical of the EU are more motivated to vote.

Polls predict that in this year’s European elections, the extreme right and populists will make a big leap.

HDZ MEP Karlo Ressler therefore believes that it is now most important to return to “normal centre-right policies and move away from entertainment because Europe has become a more dangerous place than in 2019”.