"A new game begins tomorrow," said Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic on Sunday after HDZ presidential candidate Dragan Primorac entered the presidential runoff trailing significantly behind incumbent President Zoran Milanovic, noting that he believes in Primorac's victory.

“I am glad that Dragan Primorac, the non-partisan candidate supported by the HDZ and our six partners, has made it to the second round. From tomorrow, a new game begins, a new two-week political battle for the course of Croatia, at least as far as the role of President of the Republic allows. Dragan will have our strong support in these two weeks and we believe in his victory,” said Plenkovic.

“Milanovic has shown nothing in the last five years”

According to the preliminary results of the State Electoral Commission (DIP), the incumbent president and SDP candidate Zoran Milanovic received 49.11% of the vote. Primorac, his main opponent, received 19.36% of the vote.

Plenkovic believes that Milanovic has shown nothing in the last five years and has no programme. He said that the opinion spread in the media that “one should not put all one’s eggs in one basket”, which prevailed in the presidential election, is completely absurd.

The aim of Primorac’s election as president is to ensure that all our institutions function harmoniously and that the country remains “firmly anchored in the West and with our EU and NATO partners” instead of being drawn to the East and Russia, Plenkovic said.

In response to Milanovic’s statement that he was once again offering “the hand of reconciliation”, Plenkovic said briefly: “As of tomorrow, we are facing the second round, which will take place in a fortnight’ time.”

When asked whether he would congratulate Milanovic on his result, he replied that he respected the voters who had voted for him. When asked again whether he would congratulate Milanovic, he replied: “Just as he has congratulated me every time.”

Primorac wanted to be the candidate, unlike others in the HDZ leadership

When asked whether the Croatians will experience another five years of “hard cohabitation” between him and Milanovic, Plenkovic replied: “We can talk about that later.”

When asked by reporters whether he would choose Primorac as his presidential candidate again, Plenkovic replied that Primorac wanted to be the candidate and that nobody else in the HDZ leadership wanted to “play this game”.

Primorac was an excellent choice because he has all the qualities that Croatia needs – he is not someone who divides, but someone who unites, a serious and responsible person, Plenkovic said. In response to a journalist’s question, he denied that Primorac’s result was a “slap in the face” for the HDZ and for him personally.

“No, it is not. The HDZ has won twice this year,” he said.

He also pointed out that the current results of the presidential election are almost identical to the results of the 2005 election, when Stjepan Mesic and Jadranka Kosor fought for the presidency.

He pointed out that in Sunday’s presidential election there were several candidates on the right side of the political spectrum who had the sole task of “taking votes away” from Primorac, as together they received 20% of the votes.