Croatian President and presidential candidate Zoran Milanovic casts his vote at a polling station during presidential elections in Zagreb, Croatia, on December 29, 2024.
Antonio Bronic | Reuters
Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support in Ukraine’s war with Russia, is running for re-election in the Adriatic nation but is unlikely to win an absolute majority in Sunday’s first round of voting. most.
President Zoran Milanovic is often compared to Donald Trump He faces seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, due to his combative style of communicating with political opponents.
According to pre-election polls, the two are expected to face off in the second round on January 12 if no contender gets more than 50% of the vote.
Milanovic, 58, is Croatia’s most popular politician and former prime minister. Milanovic has a populist style and has been a strong critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and the ongoing bickering between the two has recently marked the Croatian political scene.
“Since the election remains silent, I just want to urge people to go out and vote. Support me,” Milanovic said after Sunday’s vote. He expects a second round in two weeks.
Prime Minister Plenkovic sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and NATO. He branded Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing.
“The difference between him and Milanovic is very simple: Milanovic leads us east, Primolak leads us west,” he said.
Although the Croatian presidency is largely ceremonial, the democratically elected president has political power and serves as the top commander of the military.
Milanovic has criticized Nato and the European Union for their support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He said Croatia should stay out of global disputes because it is a member of NATO and the European Union.
Milanovic also prevented Croatia from participating in a NATO-led training mission in Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will fight in someone else’s war.”
His main rival in the election, Primorak, said “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East.” However, his presidential bid was hampered by the jailing of Croatia’s health minister last month. The fallout from a high-level corruption case that figured prominently in the pre-election debate.
During the campaign, Primorak sought to portray himself as a unifier and Milanovic a divider.
“Today is an extremely important day,” Primolak said after the vote. “Croatia is moving into the future. Croatia needs unity, Croatia needs global positioning and above all Croatia needs a peaceful life.”
Conservative independent candidate Marija Selak Raspudić was a distant third in pre-election polls. Her campaign focused on economic problems for ordinary citizens, corruption and population decline in the country of about 3.8 million people.
Sunday’s presidential election is Croatia’s third vote this year, following snap parliamentary elections in April and European Parliament votes in June.
