Croatia’s President Milanović wins another term after defeating ruling party candidate in runoff

Croatian opposition-backed President Zoran Milanović overwhelmingly won re-election in Sunday's runoff, successfully defeating the ruling conservative party's candidate. Official results showed Milanović securing over 74% of the vote, while his challenger, Dragan Primorac, received nearly 26%. This outcome marks a significant victory for Milanović, who has been a vocal critic of the EU and NATO.

Milanović is a strong critic of Western military support for Ukraine against Russia, and also a staunch opponent of Croatia's conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his government. In his speech following the results, Milanović stated that his victory was a symbol of the voters' recognition and trust, while also sending a "message about the state of the nation" to those who needed to hear it.

“I ask [the government] to hear these voices, this is what citizens wanted to express. This is not just support for me,” said Milanović. He also stated that he would do everything in his power to change what he sees as the undemocratic way the EU operates. Milanović, 58, is Croatia’s most popular politician, whose combative communication style with political opponents is sometimes compared to that of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

This victory sets the stage for continued political clashes between Milanović and Prime Minister Plenković, who have repeatedly clashed during Milanović's first term. Milanović also easily won the first round of voting on December 29, leaving Primorac and six other candidates far behind. Since Milanović missed obtaining more than 50% of the vote by just 5,000 votes in the first round, a runoff between the top two candidates was required.

The election comes as Croatia faces issues such as inflation, corruption scandals, and labor shortages. Milanović, while voting on Sunday, again criticized the EU as “undemocratic in many ways” and argued that the EU’s position is “if you don’t think like me, you are an enemy,” which he equated to “mental violence.” He also stated that he would work to change this, despite being the president of a small country. Political analyst Viseslav Raos believes that Milanović has no reason to “try to please anyone or control himself.”

Although the presidential post is largely symbolic in Croatia, the elected president wields political authority and serves as the supreme military commander. Milanović denies being pro-Russian, but last year he blocked the deployment of five Croatian military officers to a NATO “Ukraine Security Assistance and Training” mission in Germany. He has also pledged that he would never approve the deployment of Croatian soldiers in any NATO mission in Ukraine. Plenković and his government have stated that no such proposal exists.

Many believe that despite the limited presidential powers, the presidency is key to the balance of political power in a country that has been largely dominated by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Primorac entered politics in the early 2000s and served as Minister of Science and Education in an HDZ-led government. He unsuccessfully ran for president in 2009 and has since focused primarily on his academic career, including teaching at universities in the U.S., China, and Croatia.