Croatia's 'Trump-like' president is favourite to win run-off election

On Sunday President Zoran Milanovic volition beryllium moving against Dragan Primorac, who is backed by the premier curate and his government.

In the archetypal round, held connected 29 December, Milanovic won 49.7% of the ballot against 7 different candidates, conscionable shy of fractional of the ballots needed to unafraid an outright victory.

He was a long-time person of the Social Democrats and spent astir of his vocation successful opposition. Milanovic was past the country's premier curate from precocious 2011 to aboriginal 2016.

Populist successful style, he's been a fierce professional of existent Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic who leads the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party. Continuous clashes and bickering betwixt the 2 has go a hallmark of Croatia's governmental scene.

After dethroning HDZ's president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic 5 years ago, Milanovic has steadily shifted towards the close broadside of the governmental spectrum successful caller years.

Nevertheless, helium is wide seen arsenic the lone counterweight to HDZ and its rule.

In April this year, helium tried to tally successful the parliamentary predetermination arsenic the premier curate campaigner of the Social Democrats, successful an unprecedented determination which saw a sitting caput of authorities effort to get elected to parliament.

Although helium promised to vacate his spot if successful, the law tribunal barred him from actively campaigning during the election.

The Social Democrats past failed to signifier a bulk successful parliament, truthful Milanovic remained caput of state.

From paediatrics to politics

Primorac was a paediatrician and a assemblage prof earlier helium entered politics.

Primorac has not been a beingness successful Croatia's governmental beingness since 2009 when, arsenic the curate of subject successful a HDZ cabinet, helium tried to equine an autarkic statesmanlike campaign.

During this year's campaign, Primorac sought to represent himself arsenic a non-conflict idiosyncratic and a unifier and besides a pro-Western oriented figure, arsenic opposed to Milanovic.

Though the presidency is mostly ceremonial successful Croatia, an elected president holds governmental authorization and acts arsenic the ultimate commandant of the military. He besides has immoderate accidental successful overseas policy.

Milanovic has repeatedly said that Croatia should enactment distant from planetary disputes, adjacent though it is simply a subordinate of some NATO and the EU.

He has blocked Croatia's information successful a NATO-led grooming ngo successful Wiesbaden, Germany, and has spent respective months trying to person voters that helium is preventing Croatian soldiers from being sent to the battlefield successful Ukraine - adjacent though this was ne'er proposed.

Milanovic had besides tried to get absorption MPs to artifact Croatia's ratification of NATO enlargement, a ceremonial request needed to admit Sweden and Finland into the alliance.

Milanovic's main rival Primorac has repeatedly stated that Croatia's spot is successful the West, but his presidency bid has been marred by a high-level corruption lawsuit that landed Croatia’s wellness curate successful situation successful November, and which featured prominently successful pre-election debates.

In the archetypal circular successful December, Primorac won 19.6% of the ballot - much than different candidates and capable to scope the run-off, but inactive regarded arsenic a mediocre show by a campaigner backed by the ruling enactment which besides boasts the largest rank successful the country.

Croatia has astir 3.5 cardinal eligible voters. The turnout successful the archetypal circular was 46%, the lowest of immoderate statesmanlike predetermination successful 15 years.