Croatia’s President Zoran Milanovic attends a news conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a meeting at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
The HDZ has largely held office since Croatia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. The Balkan nation became the newest member of the European Union in 2013, and joined Europe’s passport-free travel area and the eurozone last year.
The president holds a largely ceremonial role in Croatia, while the prime minister exerts most of the political power. The election has played out as the final episode in a long-running rivalry between Plenkovic and Milanovic.
After Milanovic scheduled the election and announced his surprise bid for prime minister, he began campaigning on behalf of the SDP. But Croatia’s constitutional court judges stepped in, saying the move was unconstitutional.
The judges said that the president can’t run for prime minister, take part in the parliamentary election or campaign in favor of any party, unless he first resigns.
Milanovic refused, openly ignoring the top court and continuing to campaign in favor of the left-wing alliance
Milanovic has accused Plenkovic and the HDZ of rampant corruption and “massive theft” of state funds, referring to past and present scandals, some of which had ended up in the courts.
Prime Minister incumbent Andrej Plenkovic speaks to the media after casting his ballot at a polling station in Zagreb, Croatia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A delivery man waits for green light on a street in front of an election poster in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Plenkovic, who has led the government since 2016, repeatedly denied the accusations, saying Milanovic as the prime minister would shift the country away from the EU and closer to Russia.
Milanovic has often voiced a pro-Russia stance during the war in Ukraine, opposing the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Croatia as well as sending weapons to Ukraine because, in his view, it only prolongs the war. He also criticized the EU’s policies over Ukraine.
Source link : https://apnews.com/article/croatia-election-european-union-plenkovic-milanovic-b3a93b2598f60ebfdf663815dda2c0ad
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Publish date : 2024-04-17 07:00:00
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