As Croatia goes into the election on Sunday, its left-leaning president, Zoran Milanovic is seeking re-election. However, he is unlikely to win an outright majority in the first round of voting. Notably, President Milanovic often gets compared with US President-elect Donald Trump for his combative communication style with political opponents.
The incumbent President, who is an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, faces seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union. If none of the candidates gets more than 50 per cent, Milanovic and Primorac are likely to have a face-off in the second round on January 12.
President vs Prime Minister in Croatia
Notably, President Milanovic, 58, is the most popular politician in the country, having served as the prime minister as well. Milanovic has recently been a fierce critic of the current prime minister, Andrej Plenkovic, and continuous sparring between the two has lately marked Croatia's political scene.
Plenkovic has accused the President of being 'pro-Russia' and has called him a 'threat' to Croatia's standing in the world order.
“The difference between him and Milanovic is quite simple: Milanovic is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said.
Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military.
President Milanovic's criticism for NATO
Milanovic has criticised the NATO and European Union support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, thought it is a member of both NATO and the EU.
Milanovic has also blocked Croatia's participation in a NATO-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else's war.”
His main rival in the election, Primorac, has stated that “Croatia's place is in the West, not the East.” His presidency bid, however, has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia's health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates.
Trailing a distant third in the pre-election polls is Marija Selak Raspudic, a conservative independent candidate. She has focused her election campaign on the economic troubles of ordinary citizens, corruption and issues such as population decline in the country of some 3.8 million.
Sunday's presidential election is Croatia's third vote this year, following a snap parliamentary election in April and the European Parliament balloting in June.
(With agency inputs)
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