Croatian president skeptical of aiding Ukraine wins second term in a landslide

Jasmina Kuzmanovic, Bloomberg News on Jan 12, 2025

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Croatian President Zoran Milanovic won a second term as voters in the Balkan nation delivered a resounding election victory to a populist leader who has denounced NATO expansion and military aid to Ukraine.

The former Social Democratic leader took 74.5% of the second-round vote on Sunday with 98% of ballots counted, the most dominant result in a presidential election since Croatia became an independent country in the 1990s.

Milanovic’s challenger, Dragan Primorac, a one-time science minister supported by the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union, conceded defeat after the early count indicated he got 25.5% of the vote. The turnout was 44%.

The president’s reelection is the latest sign of growing ambivalence among European Union voters toward continued support for Ukraine’s war effort. Milanovic last year condemned military aid to Kyiv as a “deeply immoral” path to prolonging the war with Russia. A similar sentiment has become a fodder for populists in Slovakia, Austria and more recently Germany.

“This is a big day,” Milanovic, 58, told supporters in Zagreb on Sunday. “I see this as an act of trust that people have in me, and a plebiscite-like message to people who should hear it.”

The Croatian head of state has morphed over the last decade from a center-left prime minister in the EU’s most recent member to a populist leader who has gained a following with his profanity-laced attacks on political opponents.

Among his favorite targets is Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whom he’s called a “protector of crime and corruption” and a “flaming badger.” A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Plenkovic won a third term last year, though with a reduced majority in parliament.

Milanovic, 58, shook up the parliamentary contest in April by plunging into the race himself as the Social Democratic candidate, a move that was condemned by Croatia’s Constitutional Court and ultimately failed.

Turning to his political opponents on Sunday, Milanovic said: “My message is: We will have to talk.”

Popular president

First elected president in 2020, Milanovic has maintained his position as one of Croatia’s most popular politicians. He targeted the prime minister after a string of corruption scandals involving cabinet ministers from the ruling HDZ. The turmoil has tarnished Plenkovic’s record of ushering Croatia into the euro area and the EU’s visa-free travel zone.

The Croatian president holds a largely ceremonial role, but oversees the armed forces and appoints top diplomats. Milanovic has argued that the Adriatic nation, which emerged from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, should stay out of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

He’s prevented Croatia’s participation in two NATO missions to help train Ukrainian troops outside Ukraine, drawing Plenkovic’s ire.

Still, he gave no indication that he planned to steer Croatia away from its transatlantic orientation after Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president.

“The U.S. has been Croatia’s partner and friend since our independence,” Milanovic said in a statement. “I’m convinced it will remain so after the election of the new president.”

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