Just as Zoran Milanovic was the first President of the Republic not to attend the inaugural session of Parliament, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Speaker of Parliament Gordan Jandrokovic will boycott the presidential oath ceremony.

As Jandrokovic told journalists on Tuesday, the HDZ party agreed with Milanovic that these are merely matters of protocol and insignificance, and therefore they have decided not to attend the inauguration of the President of the Republic this time.

Inauguration could take place earlier

Milanovic’s second term as president begins on 19 February, but since he already holds this office, he could easily take the oath of office before 18 February. According to the daily Novi list, Pantovcak is considering holding the inauguration earlier than the constitutional deadline, possibly four or five days earlier.

In 2015, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic did the same, although she was not yet president at the time. She took the oath on 15 February and her term of office officially began on 19 February.

The venue for Milanovic’s second inauguration has not yet been finalised, and the guest list and number of attendees will depend on it.

Jelacic Square under consideration

Five years ago, Milanovic took the presidential oath in a small, private ceremony, setting a precedent, as all his predecessors had performed this solemn act in St. Mark’s Square.

It is possible that Milanovic will now do the same, but as Novi list reports, there are also plans to hold the inauguration on Ban Jelacic Square, the central square of the city of Zagreb.

The law does not specify the place. The place and date of Milanovic’s swearing-in ceremony in the presence of the President of the Constitutional Court Miroslav Separovic and the performer of the national anthem “Lijepa nasa” will be decided in the coming days.