Zagreb, Dec 29: Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection in the Adriatic Sea state, but is unlikely to get an outright majority in the first round of voting on Sunday.
President Zoran Milanovic, who is often compared to Donald Trump for his combative style of communication with political opponents, faces seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union.
The two are expected to face off in the second round on January 12 if no contender gets more than 50 per cent of the vote, according to pre-election polls.
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The most popular politician in Croatia, 58-year-old Milanovic had served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, Milanovic has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and continuous sparring between the two has lately marked Croatia’s political scene.
Plenkovic, the prime minister, has sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and NATO. He has labelled Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing.
“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.
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. (AP)
