Croatia's current and future president almost won the majority in the first round. The second circular was a formality and defeated the typical of the ruling HDZ organization (Croatian Democratic Community), winning almost 75% of the vote.
Milanović is associated with the Social Democratic organization of Croatia, from the erstwhile Communist Party. However, his success does not translate into support for this group. This HDZ has been in power for 9 years and last April re-established a coalition government.
Voters in Croatia have elected an opposition candidate to the government since 2000. In addition, Zoran Milanović became anti-system president during his tenure. Despite his left back office, he actually supported the right-wing positions in many cases – he returned or granted distinctions to war criminals, attacked number representatives and women. He gained the heart of the left, criticizing the right-wing government.
During the parliamentary election, he announced his start, and did not intend to resign from his position as President. He caused this stir, and the Constitutional Court ruled that since he was a partyless president, he could not participate in the campaign. Milanović in his kind then called the judges "unwritten gangsters" and ignored their ruling.
Although the presidency in Croatia is simply a ceremonial function, it gives political influence and provides the position of ultimate military commander. In October 2024 Milanović opposed the participation of Croatian soldiers in a mission aimed at training Ukrainian soldiers and coordinating supplies for Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, he has maintained the position that Croatia should take care of its own yard. – This isn't our war. – said and utilized a metaphor: – When elephants fight, mice should stand aside. It is frequently referred to as pro-Russian, but immediately after the outbreak of the war he stated: – From 2014 to 2022, we watched individual constantly provoke Russia into a war. And the war broke out. In the world's media, it got loud erstwhile the Ukrainian cry “Slava Ukrainiani” came together with the Nazi “Sieg Heil”.
– Milanović has the personality and image of a bad boy who people like, in the sense that he says what he thinks, and is not limited by political decorum or good behaviour – explained Florian Bieber, an expert on Balkan politics. His presidential run slogan was "President with character". It is compared to Donald Trump due to rhetoric criticizing the EU and NATO. His views on the war in the Gaza Strip are besides categorical and in 2023 he urged the Croatian government to recognise Palestine's independence. He placed conditions for the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO and exchanged hugs with Orbán. In pandemic times, he broke the rules of lockdown and went to clubs, and he besides has a diplomatic scandal in his account erstwhile he described the COVID-19 control measures in Austria as a "back to Fascism".
Films from uncensored conferences or interviews Milanovic frequently become virals on social media and contain comments in the style: I can qualify for the psych ward, but only as head of the clinic. There's besides a video from the conference erstwhile individual gives the president water, and he asks: " You don't have cocaine? On the agenda there are challenges towards Prime Minister Plenkovic, which does not stay indebted. The more fancy they are, the more frequently they are quoted in the media.
Milanović portrays himself as a man of simple words and clear ideas that does not wrap around the cotton. This is what people like: strong men, says Żarko Puhovsky, a political scientist from Zagreb.
