Zagreb  - The Croatian Parliament on Monday elected Jadranka Kosor as the nation's first female prime minister, days after her predecessor and mentor Ivo Sanader suddenly resigned - but few seem to doubt that he continues to pull the strings.

The former journalist and Sanader's deputy took over on Saturday as head of the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), as with the post of premier, with Sanader's strong backing.

Kosor, 56, takes the helm with the ruling coalition halfway through its four-year term, as Croatia ran into a wall on its path to European Union membership while bracing for an economic meltdown.

Croatia had its progress to EU blocked by Slovenia. The two nations have been embroiled in a dispute over where their border on the Adriatic coast, which has killed Sanader's plan of completing EU talks in 2009.

In addition, heavily indebted Croatia is facing a hard time in the second half of the year, as the global recession, a bad tourist season and unsustainable spending converge.

Sanader's critics accuse him of manoeuvring Kosor to take the political fallout of hard times instead of him - and keeping the door open for his own return when better times are on the horizon.

In 2003, Kosor once called herself "Sanader's closest associate." "Where he goes, I go," she said. Now, on taking office she has acknowledged having been handed a "hot potato" but vowed to "peel it and turn it into potato salad, in a lady's way."

Yet analysts in Croatia largely agree that Sanader plans to govern from the sidelines, instead of withdrawing from politics as he said he would, in his resignation announcement to an unsuspecting nation.

"It was a cunning move, to leave people speechless, stunned," said political analyst Damir Grubisa.

"But when you take a second look, you see that before leaving, he configured the cabinet and the party leadership to continue ruling from the shadows.

"Sanader left, but Sanader remained in full control." (dpa)