Political analysts said on Sunday Zoran Milanovic's presidential election victory was a punishment to the ruling HDZ party's candidate, incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, with Dragan Bagic saying she was punished for her term, Davor Gjenero for flirting with the far right and Zarko Puhovski because she was a burden to the HDZ.

Puhovski said Milanovic’s victory showed the combination of a strong candidate and a weaker party machinery was more successful than the combination of a strong party machinery and a weak candidate.

This is firstly Milanovic’s and secondly SDP’s success

“In my opinion, this is first and foremost Milanovic’s success and only then the SDP’s (Social Democratic Party) because the HDZ dragged Grabar-Kitarovic as a burden. The SDP was partly a burden to Milanovic and he dealt with it better.”

Bagic said the candidate of the ruling party did not win any presidential election since 2000 but that the difference by which Grabar-Kitarovic lost showed what citizens thought of her and how presidential term.

“Many of those who voted for Milanovic did not do so easily but simply chose a less poor solution, i.e. they punished Grabar-Kitarovic for the way she discharged her duties,” he said.

Gjenero said Milanovic’s victory showed that, although in the first round of the presidential election 50% of the vote went to right-wing candidates, the election could not be won by a Machiavellian policy of calculation and currying favour with the right.

Analysts disagree on presidential vote’s impact on parliamentary election

Asked how the presidential election would affect the outcome of a parliamentary election due at the end of the year, the analysts had different opinions.

Bagic called Milanovic’s victory an undeserved gift to SDP president Davor Bernardic and the opposition SDP.

The SDP’s victory neither helps nor hinders either it or the HDZ, he said, adding that the presidential election did not resolve the structural problems of the two leading parties – a lack of serious platforms and solutions to social problems.

“We can’t make any definite conclusion concerning the HDZ’s success or failure in the next parliamentary election and I wouldn’t consider this as a big advantage for the SDP in that election,” Bagic said.

Puhovski said Milanovic’s victory would affect the parliamentary election and that the only question was how much in the next few months Bernardic “will manage to ruin the excellent position he has found himself in.”

Gjenero said this victory could make the SDP stronger but that Milanovic might use it to topple Bernardic, which he said Milanovic had been trying to do for the past three years, and put his candidate at the helm of the party.