The Crisis
Croatian legislation at the time stipulated that the mayor of Zagreb had the status equal to a county prefect (župan), and as such his appointment had to be confirmed by the President of Croatia. This was seen as a mere formality, because Tuđman had already made a precedent by confirming opposition prefects following the disastrous defeat of his party in the 1993 local elections in Istria County.
However, in Zagreb, President Tuđman surprised many by claiming that he would not allow an "opposition situation" in the Croatian capital. He refused to confirm the opposition mayor (Goran Granić), which led to the Government of Croatia appointing a former city administration official Marina Matulović-Dropulić to manage the city.
The Zagreb assembly then refused to acknowledge Matulović-Dropulić as mayor, but with Tuđman's apparent refusal to confirm an opposition candidate, they were unable to appoint their own. Throughout the following 18 months, three more opposition candidates (Jozo Radoš, Ivo Škrabalo and Dražen Budiša) from HSLS were appointed mayors by the Zagreb assembly, only to be denied thre required confirmation by the President. A plan to appoint Ante Ledić, a businessman with strong links to HDZ, which was seen as a compromise solution, also failed. In the meantime, Matulović-Dropulić continued to run city affairs.
Read more about this topic: Zagreb Crisis
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