“He’s being treated like a God-given candidate, instead of everyone destroying him,” Plenković said, claiming he was being targeted by a “clique of left-wing media” trying to bring down his ruling party.
Croatia’s parliamentary elections, which have been preceded by a savage campaign, will be held Wednesday.
Voters will be choosing between Plenković’s ruling conservative HDZ and an opposition comprising smaller centrist and left-wing parties, led informally by the populist Milanović and his Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Milanović announced his candidacy for prime minister March 15; two days later, Croatia’s constitutional court blocked him from running until his presidential term ends in February 2025. Milanović, however, refused to quit as president and campaigned as an SDP candidate regardless.
If Milanović’s SDP does well in the Wednesday ballot, the party could find itself on track for victory in the June EU election as well as in Croatia’s December presidential election. Such a scenario would challenge the HDZ’s long political dominance and potentially foster stronger pro-Russian sentiment in the country, given Milanović’s past pro-Kremlin positions.
Both front-runners engaged in vicious attacks during a harsh parliamentary contest.
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