It was the highest score achieved by a presidential candidate since the former Yugoslav republic\u2019s independence in 1991
\n ZAGREB
\nCroatia\u2019s populist President Zoran Milanovic was re-elected in a landslide, defeating his conservative rival in Sunday\u2019s run-off, official results showed.
\nMilanovic took more than 74 percent of the vote and Dragan Primorac, backed by the center-right HDZ party that governs Croatia, almost 26 percent, with nearly all the votes counted.
\nIt was the highest score achieved by a presidential candidate since the former Yugoslav republic\u2019s independence in 1991.
\nWhile the role of the president is largely ceremonial in Croatia, Milanovic\u2019s wide victory is the latest setback for the HDZ and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic \u2014 Milanovic\u2019s political arch-rival \u2014 after a high-profile corruption affair in November.
\n\u201cCroatia, thank you!,\u201d Milanovic told his supporters who gathered at a Zagreb art and music club to celebrate his success.
\n\u201cI see this victory as a recognition of my work in the last five years and a plebiscite message from Croatian people to those who should hear it,\u201d he said in a reference to the HDZ-led government.
\nThe outspoken Milanovic, backed by the left-wing opposition, won more than 49 percent of the vote in the contest\u2019s first round two weeks ago \u2014 narrowly missing an outright victory.
\nTurnout Sunday was nearly 44 percent, slightly lower than in the first round, the electoral commission said.
\nThe vote was held as the European Union member nation of 3.8 million people struggles with the highest inflation rate in the eurozone, endemic corruption and a labor shortage.
\nEven with its limited roles, many Croatians see the presidency as key to providing a political balance by preventing one party from holding all the levers of power.
\nCroatia has been mainly governed by the HDZ since independence.
\nThe party \u201chas too much control and Plenkovic is transforming into an autocrat,\u201d Mia, a 35-year-old administrator from Zagreb who declined to give her last name, told AFP explaining her support for the incumbent.
\nMilanovic, a former left-wing prime minister, won the presidency in 2020 with the backing of the main opposition Social Democrats (SDP) party.
\nA key figure in the country\u2019s political scene for nearly two decades, he has increasingly employed offensive, populist rhetoric during frequent attacks aimed at EU and local officials.
\n\u201cMilanovic is a sort of a political omnivore,\u201d political analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP, saying the president was largely seen as the \u201conly, at least symbolic, counterbalance to the government and Plenkovic\u2019s power.\u201d
\nHis no-holds-barred speaking style has sent Milanovic\u2019s popularity soaring and helped attract the backing of right-wing supporters.
\nEarlier Sunday, after voting in Zagreb, Milanovic criticized Brussels as \u201cin many ways autocratic and non-representative,\u201d run by officials who are not elected.
\nThe 58-year-old also regularly pans the HDZ over the party\u2019s perennial problems with corruption, while also referring to Plenkovic as \u201cBrussels\u2019 clerk.\u201d Primorac, a former education and science minister returning to politics after a 15-year absence, has campaigned as a unifier for Croatia. The 59-year-old also insisted on patriotism and family values.
\n\u201cWith my program, I wanted to send a clear message that Croatia can and deserves better,\u201d he told supporters on Sunday evening as the official results confirmed his crushing defeat.
\nBut critics were saying Primorac lacked political charisma and failed to rally the HDZ base behind him.
\nHe accused Milanovic of being a \u201cpro-Russian puppet\u201d who has undermined Croatia\u2019s credibility in NATO and the European Union.
\nMilanovic condemned Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine but has also criticized the West\u2019s military support for Kyiv.
\nHe is also a prominent opponent of a program that would have seen Croatian soldiers help train Ukrainian troops in Germany.
\n\u201cThe defense of democracy is not to tell everyone who doesn\u2019t think like you that he\u2019s a \u2018Russian player\u2019,\u201d Milanovic told reporters on Sunday.
\nSuch a communication style is \u201cin fact totalitarian,\u201d he added.
\nMeanwhile, young Croatians voiced frustration over lack of discussion among political leaders over the issues that interest them, such as housing or students\u2019 standard of living.
\n\u201cWe hear them (politicians) talking mostly about old, recycled issues. What\u2019s important to young people doesn\u2019t even cross their minds,\u201d student Ivana Vuckovic, 20, told media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was the highest score achieved by a presidential candidate since the former Yugoslav republic\u2019s independence in 1991 ZAGREB Croatia\u2019s populist President Zoran Milanovic was re-elected in a landslide, defeating his conservative rival in Sunday\u2019s run-off, official results showed. Milanovic took more than 74 percent of the vote and Dragan Primorac, backed by the center-right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-455217","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n