Croatia’s President Milanović wins another term after defeating ruling party candidate in runoff

ZAGREB, Croatia AP — Croatia’s opposition-backed President Zoran Milanović, a critic of the European Union and NATO, overwhelmingly won reelection for another five-year term on Sunday, defeating a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff vote, official results showed. Milanović is also a fierce opponent of Croatia’s conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his government. Borut Zivulovic/Reuters He regularly accuses Plenković and his conservative HDZ of systemic corruption, while Plenković has labeled Milanović “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing. Political analyst Višeslav Raos said the increasingly outspoken Milanović has no motive to “try to please someone or try to control himself.” “If there was no cooperation with the prime minister for the first five years, why would there be now?” he said.