the outgoing Zoran Milanovic re-elected hands down

Inflicting a snub on the conservative right-wing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovice, the outgoing president of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, was handily re-elected on Sunday January 12. Mr. Milanovic received more than 74% of the votes in the second round of the presidential election, compared to just under 26% for his rival Dragan Primorac, according to official results covering more than 90% of the ballots counted.

This is the highest score in a presidential election since Croatia’s independence in 1991.

The socialist with populist overtones came close to victory in the first round, with 49% of the vote at the end of December. The turnout rate on Sunday was nearly 44%, according to the electoral commission. The result is another blow for the HDZ and the prime minister, Mr Milanovic’s lifelong political rival, after a high-profile corruption scandal in November.

“Croatia, thank you!” »Zoran Milanovic told his supporters gathered in an art center. “I see this victory as recognition of my work over the past five years and a message of plebiscite from the Croatian people to those who should hear it”he continued, referring to the government.

Although the president’s powers are limited, he is seen by Croats as a guarantor of political balance. And the vote comes as this country of 3.8 million inhabitants, a member of the European Union (EU), grapples with the highest inflation rate in the euro zone, endemic corruption and a shortage of labor.

Criticism of the European Union

The former Yugoslav republic has been mainly governed by the HDZ since its independence in 1991. But Mr Milanovic, a former left-wing prime minister, took over the presidency in 2020 with the support of the main opposition party, the Social Democrats ( SDP). A key figure on the political scene for nearly two decades, he regularly calls European leaders into question. On Sunday, after voting in Zagreb and expressing confidence in victory, he criticized Brussels again, according to him “in many ways autocratic and unrepresentative”.

“Milanovic is a kind of political omnivore”explains political analyst Zarko Puhovski to Agence France-Presse (AFP): the president is widely considered to be the “the only counterweight, at least symbolic, to Plenkovic’s government and power”. Mr. Milanovic’s style has boosted his popularity and helped attract right-wing voters.

His rival, Dragan Primorac, 59, former minister of education and science returning to politics after fifteen years of absence, insisted on patriotism and family values. But critics say his lack of charisma cost him the rallying of the HDZ base. “With my program I wanted to send a clear message that Croatia can and deserves better”he told his supporters on Sunday evening, while the official results confirmed his defeat: “Croatia has been and always will be my number one priority”.

Zoran Milanovic condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also criticized Western military support for kyiv, and is a noted opponent of a program that would have seen Croatian soldiers help train Ukrainian troops in Germany. This led to accusations of “pro-Russian puppet” by the HDZ. “Defending democracy does not consist of telling everyone who doesn’t think like you that they are “playing for Russia””he replied on Sunday to journalists.

For their part, young Croatians expressed their frustration at the absence in the campaign of subjects that really interest them, such as housing or the standard of living of students.