According to analysts, Zoran Milanović's convincing victory in the second round of elections in Croatia opens a new chapter in the political conflict with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and is largely the result of citizens' dissatisfaction with the governance of the country.
Zoran Milanović won his second term in Pantovčak with the most convincing victory of any candidate in the second round of elections in history.
Despite a low turnout of 44,17 percent of voters, Milanović, as a candidate for the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), won 90.000 votes more than the number of votes with which he defeated then-President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (HDZ) in the second round of the 2020 elections.
In his victory speech, Milanović said that he sees the election result as recognition of his work so far, but also a message to the government. “I ask them (the government) to hear that,” Milanović said. “That’s what the citizens wanted to say. This is not just support for me,” Milanović said after the results were announced on Sunday.
Analyzing Milanović's convincing victory, political scientist Branko Caratan told HRT that one of the reasons was his opponent, Dragan Primorac, who was backed by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Caratan pointed out that Milanović's victory gave the SDP and the opposition momentum, but that it was up to them whether they would use it in the local elections this year.
He said that it is high time that President Milanović and Prime Minister and HDZ President Andej Plenković agree on important issues and not continue their war with each other.
"A politician who cares whether someone has hurt him has a serious problem. Anyone who enters politics must be aware of the fact that they will receive and deal low blows. When vital state interests are at stake, one should get over it," Caratan pointed out.
However, political analyst Višeslav Raos told the Associated Press that the increasingly vocal Milanović now has no motive to "try to please anyone or to restrain himself."
“If there was no cooperation with the prime minister during the first five years of his presidency, why would there be any now?” Raos said.
Berto Šalaj, a professor at the Zagreb Faculty of Political Sciences, told Croatian Radio that it would have been better for HDZ if Milanović had won in the first round two weeks ago.
"They have now experienced another blow here," added Šalaj, emphasizing that this was the largest percentage difference ever achieved in a presidential election.
During Sunday's vote, Milanović again criticized the European Union as "undemocratic in many respects" and run by unelected officials. The EU's stance that "if you don't think like me, then you're the enemy" amounts to "mental violence," Milanović said.
"That is not the modern Europe I want to live and work in," he added. "I will work to change it, as much as I can as president of a small nation."
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