Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the Social Democratic Party's support for President Zoran Milanovic, who has announced his candidacy for a new term, was expected, but added that Milanovic would have resigned if he had been fair and politically correct.

“I think that was to be expected. He ran in the Croatian parliamentary elections as a non-candidate, semi-candidate, quasi-candidate, illegal candidate in violation of the constitution and suffered a heavy defeat together with the SDP party and (SDP leader Pedja) Grbin… and now he apparently wants to be what he is now as a consolation,” Plenkovic told the Croatian press in Brussels.

He added that if everything was politically correct, Milanovic would have resigned from his current post after violating the constitution and suffering a heavy electoral defeat.

Plenkovic said his HDZ would hold its party elections on 13 July and after that there would be a discussion about the presidential election. “We will definitely present a candidate, whether male or female, and I am confident that they will win.”