Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Wednesday that in the absence of arguments, President Zoran Milanovic resorts to lies, slander, insults and manipulation.

“He did this again on Tuesday (during the televised debate) and citizens must be aware that such behaviour has consequences for the international reputation (of the country),” Jandrokovic said, accusing Milanovic of bringing Croatia into conflict with many very important countries.

“Everything he does has significant consequences”

Milanovic was against Sweden and Finland joining NATO, and these countries certainly do not forget that, he said, adding that Milanovic yesterday made very serious insults against the leaders of Israel.

“This too must be registered,” Jandrokovic emphasised, adding that Croatian citizens must be aware “that “what the Croatian president says, he says on their behalf, and the countries he speaks so disrespectfully about remember that.”

“Everything he does has significant consequences, not only for Croatia’s international reputation, but it could also affect our security, our standard of living and our position in international relations,” Jandrokovic said.

“Primorac has been discredited and put in a negative light from day one”

He believes that Tuesday was a very important day in the presidential election campaign and regretted that there were not more debates, because “in a one-on-one confrontation, Milanovic is the loser.”

He described the election campaign as one of the most unusual. “The left played for Milanovic, and some of your colleagues also played very openly (for him),” he told reporters.

He added that Milanovic’s position was openly defended as he did not want to participate in a debate, while Dragan Primorac was discredited and portrayed in a negative light from day one. “Those who orchestrated this strategy knew that a debate would show how weak Milanovic is,” Jandrokovic said after the session of the Presidency of Parliament.