The Brothers Radić believed that the realization of Croatian statehood was possible within Austria-Hungary, but that it had to be reformed as a Monarchy divided into three equal parts – Austria, Hungary and Croatia.

This brought them great public support which culminated in 1920 parliamentary election when HPSS won all 58 seats assigned to Croatia.

After the establishment of Nazi-puppet state, the so-called Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in 1941, HSS was banned once again, with half of its members joining either Ustaše or Partisans, and part staying loyal to Maček who believed that the victory of Allies would bring liberal democracy into Croatia and that HSS would return to power.

The party first entered Government after 2000 elections, on which it participated as part of liberal coalition (HSS-IDS-HNS-LS-SDA), with Ivica Račan (SDP) serving as Prime Minister and its president Zlatko Tomčić as Parliament Speaker.

In 2015 election HSS won one seat as part of the conservative Patriotic Coalition, and supported Tihomir Orešković as Prime Minister.

[13] The HPSS platform of antimilitarism and pacifism became very popular in the final year of the war, especially in Croatia-Slavonia, which was affected by widespread unrest associated with the Green Cadres.

In 1920s, the HPSS policy was based on republicanism, opposition to further unification of the new state, demands for a neutral Croat peasant republic, and the advocation of national self-determination.

[16] Shortly following its accession to the Peasant International, the regime initiated a campaign to suppress the party activities in the run up to the 1925 Yugoslav parliamentary election using political, police, military and paramilitary pressure, and arresting its leaders.

The talks ended in Radić renouncing republicanism and accepting the monarchy in return for his release and participation in a coalition government led by the People's Radical Party (NRS).

The KPJ had recently adopted the federalist approach to reform of the country and saw the republican movement of the HRSS as a potential recruitment pool.

In the latter, the United Opposition won the majority of votes, but due to operation of the election law, it received 67 out of 373 seats in the parliament.

[26] Prompted by the failure of the government to secure the rule of law and public order, the HSS established the Croatian Peasant Defence [hr] (HSZ) as a party paramilitary force in 1936.

[27] In 1936 and 1937, Maček unsuccessfully negotiated with Regent Prince Paul Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović with the aim of consolidation of Croatian lands within Yugoslavia – with a degree of autonomy.

At the time, Italy was harbouring and supporting Croatian nationalist group Ustaše, but Ciano preferred to work with Maček because the HSS enjoyed far greater support among Croats and because Ciano believed that would discourage contacts between the HSS and Nazi Germany – denying German access to the Adriatic Sea.

Maček then wrote back to Ciano explaining that he seeks status of a federal unit for Croatia within Yugoslavia, with joint foreign affairs, defence, central bank, state monopolies, and customs.

Some party members were divided among those who sympathized with the Croatian fascist Ustasha independence movement, and those whose left-leaning beliefs led them to join the Partisans.

But the vast majority of HSS supporters remained passive and neutral for the duration of the war as the Ustasha, the communist Partisans and the royalist Chetniks fought for control.

With the advent of multi-party system in 1990, the HSS was reconstituted by Ivan Zvonimir Čičak and on the 1990 election won several seats in the Croatian Parliament.

[31] They remained in opposition until the 2000 elections when they received three ministerial portfolios as part of their participation in the winning Social Democratic Party of Croatia-led coalition.

HSS achieved its best results ever and won 8 out of 21 county prefects (župan) and lot of municipalities and towns and became party which was second in number of local elected officials.

Today, the HSS considers itself among other center European political parties that advocate pro-agrarian policies and greater economic interventionism by the state.