"The difference between them is quite simple: Primorac represents the future and leads us westward, while Milanovic is the past and takes us eastward," Plenkovic said in Split.

He once again referred to Milanovic as a violator of the Constitution, accusing him of unlawfully and unconstitutionally interfering in the parliamentary campaign (as the Social Democratic Party’s candidate for prime minister) and attempting to undermine the institution of the presidency. "In doing so, he achieved nothing... We formed a third government, defeated him as the unofficial candidate for prime minister, and at that point, he ceased to be the president of all citizens."

Plenkovic argued that Milanovic has no capacity for unification, dismissing Milanovic’s claims that he would defend Croatia. "Defend it from whom?" he asked.

Regarding the fact that Milanovic is currently leading in polls compared to Primorac, Plenkovic said the race has not yet officially begun.

"This is the pre-campaign. Primorac has collected the signatures (for his candidacy), and there will be more. We plan to submit them next week. We look forward to debates and ideas on how each candidate, as president, can help Croatia," he said, expressing confidence that Primorac would become Croatia's next president.

When asked whether Constitutional Court judges would be selected within the deadline, Plenkovic said, "We have already invited the opposition to consultations two or three times, and for reasons unknown to us, they declined. The burden is on the opposition; we are ready."

He also addressed recent comments made by Defence Minister Ivan Anusic, who claimed that Hungary is as dangerous to Croatia as Serbia, that Europe no longer has leaders, and that European policies over the past 20 years have been entirely misguided, calling them "rosy" and liberal.

"Anusic was attending an event hosted by the Diplomatic Club, whose members are former Croatian ambassadors. There were 30-40 people present. It was an informal setting, and he didn’t realise the media were there, so he spoke a bit more freely," Plenkovic said.

He emphasised that the HDZ party and the government maintain a firm Western orientation, strongly aligned with the EU and NATO. "It’s clear that ours is the government which, in the past eight years, has allocated more funds for defence than all previous administrations combined."