In the second round of Croatian presidential elections, incumbent Zoran Milanović won with 74.68% of the vote, far ahead of his opponent, Dragan Primorec, who received only 25.32%. This is reported by the public broadcaster HRT, based on the results of processing 100% of the protocols.
Milanovych thanked the voters for their support, calling his victory "a wonderful day." In his message on Facebook, he noted that he sees this result as a recognition of his work over the past five years as president and an expression of trust from the citizens. "Croatia, thank you! This is a great day for me, and I see this victory as recognition of my work and people's trust in me," Milanovych wrote. Despite the confident victory, this result did not come as a surprise to experts. During the first round of the election, which took place a few weeks ago, Milanovic was just 1% short of winning in the first round. One of the loudest topics surrounding Milanovych became his controversial statements, in particular regarding the war in Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has repeatedly made statements that have drawn criticism from the international community. In December 2022, Milanovych stated that he did not consider Ukraine an ally and criticized Croatian Prime Minister Andrii Plenkovic for his stance on supporting Ukraine, calling his actions "sociopathic." In May 2023, the president also caused outrage when he compared the Ukrainian greeting "Glory to Ukraine!" with the German "Sieg Heil" and the Croatian "Ready for Home!". According to him, Western politicians use this greeting because of their incompetence. These statements became a topic of discussion not only in Croatia, but also outside its borders. They raised questions about Croatia's foreign policy and its attitude to the conflict in Ukraine. Despite the contradictory statements, Croatia and Ukraine continue to cooperate in the international arena. Recently, the two countries signed an Agreement on cooperation and support, which provides for the exchange of intelligence data and deepening of cooperation in various fields.
At the same time, Croatia's political landscape continues to be complex, and the question remains of how Milanović and his policies will affect the country's relations with other states, particularly regarding events in Ukraine and its future in the European arena.
