THE DARK SIDE OF THE POLITICAL ELITE. Politicians as Objects of Activity of the Con？ict of Interest Commission

Sa？etak In the last few years, conflict of interest has been a recurring subject in the Croatian political and general social discourse. Conflict of interest is defined as a situation in which a person who is performing a public duty places their private interest above the public interest. Since the foundation and professionalization of the Conflict of Interest Commission, Croatia has officially been fighting against this enormous political problem which is often considered to be a gateway to corruption. The work of the Commission is often covered in media and its decisions are starting to make crucial moves towards greater transparency of the political scene. In this article, the authors research the work of the aforementioned Commission by analyzing each resolution that was made in 2017, and then interpret the results through social and political characteristics of public officials. Results show that the people most commonly accused of conflict of interest were males with a higher degree of education who are a part of local or regional government and who do not belong to a particular political party