Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic believes that the second round of the presidential election has shown the strength of Croatian democracy.

“He is not my choice, but what the citizens have decided must be respected,” says Bozinovic about the results, which show that Zoran Milanovic will once again assume the office of Pantovcak.

“The candidate was elected by all party bodies and the logic was that a candidate who is not from the party could appeal to a broader electorate. This is our third term in a row, but it hasn’t worked,” says the Interior Minister, referring to the HDZ party candidate, Dragan Primorac.

“We can not just say what the citizens want to hear”

Analyses will follow. “We will have to focus on more detailed analyses. The local elections are just around the corner and the party will certainly be preparing for them,” he explains.

Bozinovic does not believe that this result says anything about the strength of the party.

“Nine months ago, the citizens voted for Andrej Plenkovic’s HDZ. It is the government that has to tackle difficult issues and make decisions. We can not just say what the citizens want to hear – our problems are real and tangible. So far, no one has appeared on the Croatian political scene who could deal with them better than the HDZ in the perception of the citizens,” he said.