Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenkovic told Jutarnji List on Saturday that his party is focused to see to it that their presidential candidate, the incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, wins a second term through the unifying the centre, centre-right, and right-wing voters.

“Our candidate has made the presidential runoff, and now we are focused on ensuring that the unity of voters from centre, centre-right, and right electorate paves the way for Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic’s victory over (former prime minister) Zoran Milanovic, whose government is remembered for poor economic results and divisions in the society. Therefore, he definitely cannot be a good president who is supposed to foster unity and not divisions,” Plenkovic said in the interview.

Plenkovic said that Grabar-Kitarovic has during her first five-year presidential term achieved significant progress for Croatia, notably for the country’s international position and reputation. She has launched initiatives for demographic revitalisation and taken care of those in financial distress and those on the brink of poverty, he added.

“I am confident that people have not forgotten bad results of the Milanovic cabinet and of his premiership,” Plenkovic said.

Former prime minister Milanovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) emerged as the relative winner of the Croatian presidential election on 22 December, winning 29.5% of votes, while the incumbent president Grabar-Kitarovic, backed by the ruling HDZ, finished second with 26.7%,

Milanovic and Grabar-Kitarovic will face off in the second round of voting scheduled for January 5.