Milanović says the Constitutional Court's opinion is irrelevant

Political parties and independent candidates have until midnight on March 29th to submit their election lists to the State Election Commission, after which the commission has 48 hours to publish the valid slates. This will then mark the official beginning of the election campaign period.

President Zoran Milanović took to social media on Sunday to inform the public that he had no intention of resigning as Croatian President and that he would run in the April 17th parliamentary elections and that he will be the SDP’s candidate for prime minister at those elections. Here’s an excerpt from his post on social media:

"And to be completely clear, there will be no unconstitutionality in taking over power after winning the elections. As President of the Republic, I will be a candidate for Prime Minister (on the slate or not, it doesn't matter), after our victory in the elections and after the constitution of the new convocation of the Croatian Parliament I will step down from the position of President of the Republic, I will be replaced in the position of President of the Republic - as the Constitution strictly prescribes in Article 97 - by the newly elected Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (and that will not be Jandroković of the HDZ...)."

Later in the day Milanović addressed citizens in person while visiting the Slavonian town of Lipovljani. He once again insisted that he would not resign as president and that he will stand for prime minister simultaneously regardless of the decision adopted by what he described as a HDZ-leaning Constitutional Court. He also fired across the bow of numerous HDZ officials, including a former senior member of its ranks and one of the co-authors of the Croatian Constitution, Vladimir Šeks: "It's irrelevant what the HDZ thinks. Ultimately it's irrelevant what the Constitutional Court thinks, which is headed up by that drunk Šek's friend, Zvonimir Šeparović. A man who is in a blood feud with Turudić out of personal, not principled reasons. But they're all the same scum. At the end they can adopt whatever decision they want to, but I will be in the campaign and I will be the candidate for prime minister. I'm running in the elections and my goal is to remove the HDZ from power. I can't say it any simpler than that."

Meanwhile, in an interview for Croatian Television today, SDP party president Peđa Grbin was asked whether Milanović's decision to hang on to the presidency as a backup is as heroic as they claim: "This is heroic, because this isn't a backup position. This is a position that has for four years blocked the HDZ from assuming control over every institution in this country. They tried to occupy every single institution. The last one was the State Attorney's Office. If it were not for President Milanović they would have taken control over the Supreme Court, luckily they didn't succeed. Were it not for the president that would have taken control of the Croatian Armed Forces. Luckily they couldn't. If it weren't for the president they would have taken control of the secret services. Luckily they couldn't. And now, at these elections, we will stop them from stealing."

Grbin also confirmed that the Workers' Front will not be part of the SDP's pre-election coalition. Katarina Peović, the leader of the Workers' Front responded today by saying that they would have left the coalition on their own following the SDP's decision to name Milanović as its candidate for prime minister: "From his privatization of everything, from the Croatia Osiguranje insurance company to our shipyards, which ultimately led to their demise. Milanović was serenading Damir Končar in the Trogir shipyard, a tycoon who did exactly what he wanted, which is to destroy the shipyard. This and a series of other policies indicate that the Worker's Front is the only left party in the race."

2024 is a super-election year for Croatia. Not only with voters be going to the polls in April for the parliamentary elections, they will also vote at presidential elections – which should come in December, as well as for European Parliament in June.

Source: HRT