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Voters in Croatia re-elected Zoran Milanovic to a second term after he won nearly three-quarters of the vote in the country’s presidential election.
It was a terrible result for his opponent Dragan Primorac, who was supported by the ruling center-right Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) party.
Primorac won 25 percent of the vote, the worst result for Croatia’s most powerful political force.
The result was met with a restrained reaction by Prime Minister Andrei Plenkavich.
He refused to congratulate the winner and stated that “Milanovic does not offer anything.”
Milanovic said that he would “extend a hand” to the prime minister.
Presidents in Croatia play a largely ceremonial role – the constitution insists that they should not be party-political figures, but act as the head of state for all citizens.
Milanovic has been a frequent critic of the ruling party on issues including corruption, inflation and health care.
Although he has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has also frequently criticized Western military support for Kiev.
Earlier becoming presidentMilanović was the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2011 to 2016 and the leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) from 2007 to 2016.
He briefly intervened in the country’s parliamentary elections last year, announcing he will run for the post of prime ministerbefore the court declared the move unconstitutional.
In response, he accused the judges of following the orders of the CDU – a “gangster clique,” as he put it.
The ruling CDU has been the dominant party since Croatia gained independence more than 30 years ago.
