Croatia’s Milanovic to face rival in election run-off next month

Incumbent president narrowly missed an outright win, securing 49.1% of the vote, portion rival Primorac garnered 19.35%.

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is acceptable to face-off against his blimpish rival, Dragan Primorac, successful a run-off predetermination successful 2 weeks.

Official results amusement that the incumbent narrowly fell abbreviated of securing an outright triumph successful Sunday’s vote.

The results followed an exit poll released instantly aft polling stations closed, indicating that Milanovic, supported by the absorption left-wing Social Democrats, had secured much than 50 percent of the first-round vote, perchance avoiding the January 12 run-off.

Milanovic won 49.1 percent of the first-round vote. Primorac, backed by the ruling blimpish HDZ party, took 19.35 percent, according to results released by the authorities electoral committee from astir each of the polling stations.

On Sunday evening, Milanovic pledged to his supporters who gathered successful Zagreb to “fight for Croatia with a wide stance, 1 that takes attraction of its interests”.

Such a beardown pb for Milanovic, whom surveys labelled a favourite earlier the vote, raises superior concerns for Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s HDZ.

“Even though Milanovic declares himself a leftist and he’s coming from the Social Democratic party, helium was a fierce professional of the Plenkovic authorities and Plenkovic himself, calling him retired for corruption, and besides criticising the Croatian authorities for being excessively obedient to Brussels and the EU’s demands,” said Al Jazeera’s Tanja Novak, reporting from Zagreb.

“That stance has besides made him favourable with the voters connected the close spectrum and arsenic tonight’s votes show, helium managed to bring a batch of them to his side,” she added.

Late connected Sunday, Primorac labelled the large quality betwixt him and Milanovic a “challenge”.

“In the archetypal circular determination were … a batch of candidates, it was not casual to contiguous the programme fully. Now it’s a large accidental that Milanovic and I beryllium one-on-one … to spot who represents what,” Primorac told his supporters successful Zagreb.

The predetermination came arsenic the European Union and NATO subordinate state of 3.8 cardinal radical struggles with biting inflation, wide corruption and a labour shortage.

Among the 8 contenders, centre-right MP Marija Selak Raspudic and green-left MP Ivana Kekin followed the 2 main rivals, the exit canvass showed. The 2 women each won astir 9 percent of the vote.

Zoran Milanovic and his woman Sanja Music Milanovic [File: Marko Djurica/Reuters]

‘Croatia’s Trump’

The president cannot veto laws but has a accidental successful overseas policy, defence and information matters.

Despite his populist rhetoric, Milanovic is seen by galore arsenic the lone counterbalance to the HDZ-dominated government, 30 of whose ministers person been forced to permission successful caller years owed to corruption allegations.

Prime Minister Plenkovic has sought to represent the ballot arsenic 1 astir Croatia’s aboriginal successful the EU and NATO. He has labelled Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a menace to Croatia’s planetary standing.

Milanovic is an outspoken professional of Western subject enactment for Ukraine in its warfare against Russia. He is often compared to Donald Trump for his combative benignant of connection with governmental opponents.

The astir fashionable person successful Croatia, 58-year-old Milanovic has served arsenic premier minister. Populist successful style, helium has been a fierce professional of Plenkovic, and continuous sparring betwixt the 2 has lately marked Croatia’s governmental scene.

Milanovic regularly pans Plenkovic and his HDZ enactment implicit systemic corruption, calling the premier a “serious menace to Croatia’s democracy”.

For many, the predetermination is simply a continuation of the longstanding feud betwixt 2 almighty politicians.

Primorac, a 59-year-old doc and idiosyncratic returning to authorities aft 15 years, campaigned arsenic a “unifier” promoting household values and patriotism.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies