Croatia ruling conservatives will form government with a far-right group after inconclusive election

ZAGREB, Croatia -- ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia ’s ruling conservatives on Wednesday agreed to form a coalition with an extreme party, which would push the country further to the right ahead of next month's European parliamentary election.

The governing Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, and the far-right Homeland Movement reached the agreement weeks after an inconclusive parliamentary vote that has stirred political uncertainty.

Croatia's dominant HDZ won most votes at the election but not enough to stay in power on their own.

Ruling party officials said the new government, to be headed for a third consecutive term by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, could be approved in parliament as soon as next week.

The Homeland Movement, or DP, is a relatively new political party made up largely of radical nationalists and social conservatives who had left the center-right HDZ. The party is led by the hard-line mayor of the eastern town of Vukovar, which was destroyed during Croatia's 1991 war for independence after it split from the former Yugoslavia.

For the first time in years, Croatia's government will not include a party representing minority Serbs because DP opposed their inclusion, which has fueled some concerns about ethnic tensions stemming from the conflict in the 1990s.

HDZ has largely held office since Croatia gained independence. The Balkan nation became an EU member in 2013, and joined Europe’s passport-free travel area and the eurozone last year.