Chwa Spas

Chwa Spas (born 1965) is a Kresimirian physician, activist, and politician who has served as a Senator for District VI (Viskogorje) since 2012. A senior member of Northern Power, he is widely considered the most socially progressive member of the Assembly.

Spas rose to prominence as a “doctor of the poor” in the mountain villages of the north. He was boosted by his participation in the Winter Freeze protests, where he organised the occupation of the municipal heating plant to restore power to freezing worker tenements. His entry into politics in 2012 was a watershed moment for the regionalist movement, as he unseated the incumbent Topi Topolski of the Civic Renewal Front, marking the rejection of economic liberalism by the northern electorate. He is a staunch advocate for universal healthcare, housing guarantees, and the expansion of civil rights for minorities.

Early Life and Medical Career

Chwa Spas was born in 1965 in the small mining village of Vjet, high in the Viskogorje mountains. The son of a forestry worker, he experienced the stark economic disparity of the region: while wealthy tourists from Sinj skiied at luxury resorts in Lipovljana, local villagers often lacked basic heating and medical care.

He attended Sinj University on a state scholarship, studying nursing. He worked as a nurse at the Sinj General Hospital for five years before returning to university to qualify as a Medical Doctor, graduating in 1998.

“The Red Doctor”

Returning to District VI, Spas eschewed lucrative private practice to work for the Council for Health in underfunded rural clinics. During the harsh winters of the early 2000s, he became a vocal advocate for the homeless and the elderly. He founded “Shelter Viskogorje,” a charity that occupied abandoned state buildings to provide warm housing for the indigent. His willingness to clash with local police and bureaucrats to protect his patients earned him the nickname “The Red Doctor.”

Spas first rose to prominence as a local activist opposing the construction of the Vjetar Dam. Although the protests failed to stop the project, his defense of the displaced villagers and his leadership during the subsequent 2009 power cuts established his reputation as the ‘Red Doctor’ of the north.

Political Career

The 2012 Election

In 2011, Northern Power leader Syv Iric recruited Spas to run for the Senate. Iric needed a candidate who could break the hold of the CRF in District VI. The incumbent, Topi Topolski, was a corporate lawyer who supported the privatization of National Energy assets—a policy Spas vehemently opposed.

Spas ran a grassroots campaign focused on “Human Dignity over Corporate Profit.” He attacked Topolski as an agent of the capital who viewed Viskogorje merely as a “resource colony.”

• Result: In a tight race, Spas defeated Topolski (26.2% to 24.3%), securing the second seat behind Blue Dawn’s Stoyan Vasilis.

Spas’s victory was heavily influenced by the debate over National Energy. The incumbent, Topi Topolski, had advocated for privatizing the district’s hydroelectric dams. Spas campaigned aggressively against this, reminding voters of the 2009 “Winter Freeze” and arguing that handing the grid to private profit would leave Viskogorje in the dark.

Senatorial Tenure (2012–Present)

In the Assembly, Spas established himself as the conscience of the left.

• Healthcare: He is a relentless critic of the Council for Health, constantly demanding increased funding for rural districts and opposing the “two-tier” system where party officials receive priority care. Spas particularly criticises Chief Councillor Zora Zec. He frequently mocks her background as a ‘TV Doctor’ and argues that her administration prioritizes the ‘Gold Zone’ hospitals of Sinj at the expense of the rural clinics in Viskogorje.
• Civil Rights: Spas is the most vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and low-income representation in the Assembly. He frequently uses his time on the floor to read letters from marginalized citizens, a tactic that often draws jeers from Sons of Kresimir leader Malik Kondratiev and Vjetrusa senator Bran Maj.
• Surveillance: In 2015, he voted Against the Digital Vigilance Act, calling the mandatory KresiX system “a digital cage for a free people.”

He has formed a “Progressive Bloc” with Civic Renewal Front senators Illes Mehic and Adnan Sitar to advocate for social issues, including LGBTQ+ rights and the reform of the Council for Education.

The 2022 Victory

In the 2022 election, Spas’s popularity helped carry Northern Power to a historic sweep of District VI. Not only was Spas comfortably re-elected (34.2%), but his popularity provided the coattails for his colleague Sifet Izbe to unseat the veteran Stoyan Vasilis. This victory turned Viskogorje into a Northern Power stronghold.

Ideology

Spas’s campaign revived the ‘Mountain Socialist’ rhetoric pioneered by former Senator Miljenko Tarin, who had represented the district from 1972 to 2002. Spas successfully reassembled Tarin’s old coalition of forestry workers and rural poor to defeat the CRF incumbent.

Spas identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He argues that the Kresimirian constitution’s guarantees of “Divine Benevolence” mandate a robust welfare state. He supports:

• Total nationalization of the pharmaceutical industry.
• A “Living Wage” pegged to the cost of housing in Sinj.
• The repeal of the Faith Restriction Clause (a position that puts him at odds with some conservative rural voters, but which he defends on humanitarian grounds).