Možemo!/We Can!
EU RANK: 27 (Tier 1: Top Performance)
Možemo! (We Can!) is a green‑left platform that emerged from Zagreb‑based civic movements and anti‑corruption campaigns, combining environmentalism, social justice and participatory democracy. It made a breakthrough in the 2020 parliamentary election and then won the Zagreb mayoralty and city assembly majority in 2021, giving it significant influence over the capital’s institutions and public companies. The party is strongly pro‑EU, advocates transparent governance and positions itself as an alternative to both HDZ and SDP‑linked patronage networks.
Disinformation and alternative media
Možemo! communicates mainly through mainstream Croatian media, community channels and social media, and does not command a dedicated ecosystem of conspiratorial or extremist outlets. Its messaging focuses on anti‑corruption, public services, housing and climate policy, framed in technocratic and rights‑based terms rather than in anti‑system rhetoric. Mapping of online disinformation for Croatia places far‑right, anti‑vaccine and pro‑Kremlin pages at the core of harmful content flows, with green‑left actors like Možemo! more often as targets of attacks than as originators.
The party supports EU and national initiatives to combat disinformation and has backed public‑service media and fact‑checking projects as safeguards against propaganda and hate speech. Its disinformation and alternative‑media risk is low.
Foreign influence and external alignments
Možemo! is strongly pro‑EU and pro‑NATO, with an emphasis on human rights, climate action and social inclusion. It supports EU sanctions against Russia and other authoritarian regimes, solidary policies towards refugees and further European integration, and is critical of illiberal trends in neighbouring states.
There is no evidence of financial or organisational ties between Možemo! and foreign governments or state‑aligned media; its stance is explicitly to reduce clientelism and external leverage over domestic institutions. The party’s foreign‑influence DMI risk is low.
Media capture, advertising and public service media
Možemo! entered politics explicitly criticising media capture and the intertwining of big parties, local power brokers and commercial broadcasters, especially in Zagreb. In the capital it now oversees important municipal companies and advertising budgets and has promised to introduce stricter transparency rules and fair‑distribution criteria for local media funding.
Because its time in power has been short, there is limited evidence so far of Možemo! using advertising or appointments to build its own loyal media bloc; watchdogs nevertheless stress that its control over Zagreb’s resources carries future capture risks if internal checks weaken. Overall media‑capture risk is low–medium.
Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity
Možemo! built its identity on fighting corruption and dismantling the clientelist networks associated with former Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić. Litigation and investigation data from 2015–2025 do not list major corruption proceedings against Možemo! leaders, who have pushed for stronger public‑procurement rules and open‑data practices in city administration.
The party’s relative youth and scepticism towards oligarchic business elites reduce classic corruption risk, though challenges in managing large public systems without established cadres have produced capacity and implementation problems. DMI corruption and institutional‑integrity risk is low–medium.
Press freedom, harassment and treatment of media
Možemo! publicly supports independent journalism, public‑service media and local non‑profit outlets, and has pledged to distribute city advertising through objective criteria instead of political loyalty. Party representatives criticise sensationalism and tabloidisation but do not systematically smear journalists or call for punitive measures against critical outlets; their main conflicts concern legacy ties between media and old Zagreb patronage networks.
Decisions on which local outlets receive city support are politically sensitive and will test whether Možemo! can implement its transparency promises without sliding into favouritism. For now, the party’s press‑freedom and harassment risk is low–medium.