Ahead of the second round of presidential elections on Sunday, Zoran Milanovic and Dragan Primorac exchanged colourful barbs as well as exploring genuine policy differences.
“Dealer”, “freeloader”, “liar”, “slacker” and “coward” were just some of the insults exchanged between Zoran Milanovic and his rival for the Croatian presidency Dragan Primorac in their debate on the public broadcaster on Tuesday evening.
In the first round of Croatia’s presidential elections on December 29, the incumbent Milanovic won 49.09 per cent of the vote, just 0.91 per cent short of outright victory. The second round is scheduled for Sunday, January 12.
Polls suggest Primorac, who won only 19.35 per cent in the first round and is backed by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, stands little chance against Milanovic, who is supported by the main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Amid the insults and heated exchanges, the two candidates presented key points from their programmes.
On the topic of foreign policy, and whether they had met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Primorac stated that the conditions for such a meeting had not been met.
“We will help Serbia join the European Union when it provides us with information about Vukovar Hospital and opens the archives of the Yugoslav People’s Army,” Primorac reiterated, referencing an infamous massacre of hospital patients in the eastern border town by Yugoslav and Serbian forces during Croatia’s war for independence in November 1991.
Vucic “is not welcome in Croatia. Vucic must decide whether his partner is Russia or the European Union. Only then can we begin serious discussions,” Milanovic said.
Asked if he might meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, Primorac said it made no sense at this point, as Croatia was not involved militarily.
“At this stage, that would only compromise Croatia. There is no legal or constitutional basis for any Croatian soldier to set foot in Ukraine,” Primorac stated.
“Nobody ever suggested that Croatian soldiers would go to Ukraine. Croatia is not going to Ukraine,” Milanovic added.
Asked if the EU was up to the challenge of handling mass migration, among others, Milanovic said no.
“Ten years ago, I let 800,000 people through Croatia. Not a single fence was scratched. [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel asked me to keep 50-60,000. Not happening!” Milanovic said, recalling the mass migration of refugees and asylum seekers through Eastern Europe to Western Europe that year.
He added that, despite Europe’s morally superior attitude to the world, Western Christians were encountering more antipathy in the world. “But in fact, we are not the real factor. The factor is the Americans, the factor is China,” Milanovic said.
The candidates also clashed over the abortion issue “I became President by the will of the citizens on a platform with the message that a woman has the right to choose,” Milanovic said.
“For me, life begins with conception and ends with death,” Primorac responded.
Milanovic accused Primorac of associating with mass murderers, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war in Gaza. Primorac meanwhile claimed that Milanovic’s only political friends were Bosnian Serb supremo Milorad Dodik, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orban.
Milanovic repeatedly claimed that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was Primorac’s sponsor and dubbed Primorac “the last communist” referring to his membership of the former ruling Communist Party in the late 1980s.
