On January 5, 2020, Zoran Milanovic, a leftist former prime minister, won Croatia’s presidential election. With more than 99% of the ballots counted, Mr Milanovic won almost 53% of the vote, while the opponent, Ms Grabar-Kitarovic received 47% of the total votes. The former prime minister of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, re-entered politics, after a gap of 4 years. Earlier, in the past four years, Milanovic was operating in a consulting company EuroAlba Advisory and he was completely absent from the public. Mr Milanovic, who served as prime minister from 2011 to 2015, during the campaign vowed to tackle corruption, which according to him has increased since he lost power to the conservatives.
After winning the presidential election, Mr Milanovic addressed the crowd of Zagreb saying, “If this narrow but fair and clear victory brought a little faith and a little spirit into this society of ours and among these people, I am a happy man, and let us rejoice together!” He will have a largely ceremonial role, including presiding over the armed forces and sharing foreign policy duties with the premier. He further stated that he won’t divide the Croatian citizens, majorly when it comes to the things they are sensitive about. Mr Milanovic will take office on 19 February, with a higher profile as president. Overall, it would be interesting to see what changes and improvements he rolls out for a better nation.