A coalition of Croatian opposition parties won 80 of the Croatian parliament’s 151 seats on December 4 . . . they defeated Zagreb’s conservative ruling party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which had ruled for 16 years . . . HDZ’s defeat followed several corruption scandals and increased levels of unemployment, which stood at 17.4 percent in October . . . new Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic is considering talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans to help the economy recover . . . Milanovic also proposed cutting waste from the pension system and creating jobs in the energy, transport and tourism sectors . . . the Croatian government had its credit rating downgraded last year by Standard & Poor’s to BBB-, only one step above junk debt . . . Croatia efforts to join the EU in July 2013 will be hampered if the country does not impose significant austerity measures or improve its economy . . . the election reflects a broader Europe-wide discontent against incumbent parties.