The election highlighted political divisions in Croatia. Milanović consolidated support through direct rhetoric and a focus on sovereignty. In contrast, Primorac, perceived as politically unaffiliated despite being supported by the HDZ, struggled to mobilize sufficient backing, even among HDZ voters. Milanović successfully portrayed himself as an independent leader, which could pose long-term challenges for the SDP, given his departure from traditional social democratic positions.
The role of the Croatian president has been significantly diminished since constitutional reforms in 2000, with powers now primarily limited to representative and security-related functions. Nonetheless, presidential elections often serve as a platform for expressing public dissatisfaction with the government, highlighting the importance of the candidate's personal appeal.
In his second term, Milanović is expected to maintain his confrontational stance toward Plenković while addressing issues such as EU migration policies, the Schengen Area, and relations with NATO and the United States. The ongoing tension between the president and the government is likely to remain a defining feature of Croatia's political landscape in the years ahead.
The full-length country report is only available in German.
Media library
#11: Hannah Lim on Legal Technology in South East Asia
As Head of Rule of Law and Emerging Markets at LexisNexis in Singapore, Hannah identifies areas where LexisNexis can, leveraging on technology, support the rule of law.
Read now
#6: Lee San Natalie Pang on the General Data Protection Regulation & its influence in Southeast Asia
For the last episode of our first series “Data Protection” we go to Asia and take a closer look at the Southeast with Dr Lee San Natalie Pang, our expert on Data Protection.
Read now
#5: Ridwan Oloyede about the GDPR and its influence in African legal framework
Ridwan Oloyede is co-founder of a Nigerian start-up, that helps businesses to achieve operational excellence through the reliable and efficient application of technology.
Read now
#4: Nadim Gemayel on the General Data Protection Regulation and its influence in Middle East
Nadim Gemayel is a politician and lawyer based in Lebanon and Qatar. He was a member of the Lebanese Parliament between 2009 and 2020.
Read now
#3: Eduardo Magrani on Data Protection in Latin America
We speak with Eduardo Magrani about the General Data Protection Regulation and its influence in Brazilian and Latin American legal framework.
Read now
#2: Ioana Stupariu on the GDPR's influence in South East Europe
Ioana Stupariu works with tech and healthcare start-ups and companies across Central and Eastern Europe. And she researches on Data protection & Privacy.
Read now