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Voting for the presidency is taking place in Croatia on Sunday. Zoran Milanovic, considered pro-Russian, is the strongest contender in the presidential race. It is noteworthy that Milanovic is the outgoing President of Croatia and he is expected to hold this post once again.
Milanovic is essentially facing off against Dragan Primorac, a candidate from Croatia’s ruling Conservative Party. There are also six other candidates. Milanovic won comfortably in the first round of elections held on 29 December. This is the reason why leftist Milanovic is likely to win in the second phase of elections also.
Had achieved strong victory in the first phase
In the first round of elections, Milanovic got 49 percent of the votes, while Primorac could get only 19 percent of the votes. Croatia is a member state of the European Union and NATO. These days, this country with a population of 38 lakhs is struggling with inflation, corruption and shortage of workforce. Milanovic, 58, is an opponent of Western aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. Milanovic is very popular in Croatia and is very vocal about his political opponents. For this reason, he is often compared with America’s newly elected President Donald Trump.
Milanovic is a vocal critic of the Prime Minister
Milanovic is considered a vocal critic of Croatia’s current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. Milanovic has often been vocal against PM Andrej, accusing him and his ruling party, the conservative Croatian Democratic Union Party, of promoting corruption. Meanwhile, PM Andrej claims Milanovic to be pro-Russian and calls him a threat to Croatia. Although Milanovic has denied being pro-Russian, he is against NATO’s assistance to Ukraine against Russia. Milanovic has also served as Prime Minister of Croatia. The presidency in Croatia is ceremonial, but the President is the supreme commander of the military. In such a situation, even though the post of President in Croatia is formal, it also has its own importance and it plays a big role in balancing power. Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. In Croatia, the President is elected through voting.
