The Rise of New Green Party in the 2014 European Parliament Elections in Croatia

In post-communist Europe, Green parties are not only outsiders in the sense of not participating in government, but are, when they exist, non-parliamentary, minor parties. For the last 25 years of its independence, party dynamics in Croatia has followed this general pattern. Though small Green parties have participated in elections since the first multiparty election, none had ever entered parliament. However, in the 2014 EP elections, a newly formed Green party, OraH, won 9.42% of the votes and gained one seat in the EP. Ever since this EP electoral success, OraH's popularity has continued to grow, and its leader, Mirela Holy, is currently the most popular politician in Croatia. In what ways has the European electoral arena enabled the Meteoric rise of this new party, now considered as the third largest political party in Croatia?