Croatia holds a parliamentary election Wednesday after dirty campaign involving top officials

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia holds an early parliamentary election Wednesday following a campaign that was marked by heated exchanges between the country’s two top officials, creating a political crisis in the Balkan country that is a European Union and NATO member.

The ballot will pit the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led by incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic against an alliance of centrist and left-wing parties informally led by populist President Zoran Milanovic and his Social Democratic Party (SDP).

If the HDZ stays in power, the country would maintain relative political stability and continue on the pro-Western course in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia. A success for SDP could put it on track for victory in the European Parliament elections in June and the presidential election in December. It would shake the HDZ’s long dominance of politics and potentially open space for stronger pro-Russian influence in the country, akin to Hungary and Slovakia.