Voters in Croatia re-elected Zoran Milanović for a second term, after he won almost three-quarters of the vote in the country’s presidential elections.
It was a bad result for his opponent Dragan Primorc, who had the support of the center-right ruling party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Primorac won 25 percent of the vote, which is the worst result for the strongest political force in Croatia.
The outcome met with a muted reaction from Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
He refused to congratulate the winner and claimed that “Milanović does not offer anything”.
Milanović said that he would “give a hand” to the prime minister.
Presidents in Croatia have a mostly ceremonial role – the constitution insists that they must not be a party-political figure, but act as the head of state for all citizens.
Milanović was a frequent critic of the ruling party on issues such as corruption, inflation and healthcare.
While he condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he also frequently criticized Western military support for Kiev.
Ago becoming presidentMilanović was the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2011 to 2016, and led the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) from 2007 to 2016.
He briefly intervened in the country’s parliamentary elections last year with an announcement he would run for prime ministerbefore the court declared the move unconstitutional.
Reacting, he accused the judges of ordering the HDZ, as he said, a “gangster clique”.
The ruling HDZ has been the dominant party since Croatia’s independence more than 30 years ago.