Milanovic, a former left-wing prime minister, took over the presidency in 2020 with the backing of the main opposition Social Democrats (SDP) party.
A key figure in the country’s political scene for nearly two decades, he has increasingly employed offensive, populist rhetoric during frequent attacks aimed at EU and local officials.
“Milanovic is a sort of a political omnivore,” political analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP, saying the president was largely seen as the “only, at least symbolic, counterbalance to the government and Plenkovic’s power”.
The no-holds-barred speaking style has sent Milanovic’s popularity soaring and helped attract the backing of right-wing supporters.
On Thursday, he called on voters to “not to let the president be elected by Plenkovic, who wants a pushover who will carry out his personal will” – a reference to Primorac.
Milanovic regularly pans the HDZ over the party’s perennial problems with corruption, while also referring to Plenkovic as “Brussels’ clerk”.
INSULTS FLY
Primorac, a former education and science minister returning to politics after a 15-year absence, has campaigned as a unifier for Croatia.
“Primorac is an adequate person with good international ties and he would achieve much better international cooperation for Croatia,” Djuro Nezicic, a 62-year-old pensioner, told AFP after he voted in Zagreb.
But critics say the 59-year-old career academic and businessman lacks political charisma and has failed to rally the HDZ base behind him.
He accuses Milanovic of being a “pro-Russian puppet” who has undermined Croatia’s credibility in NATO and the European Union.
Milanovic condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has also criticised the West’s military support for Kyiv.
He is also a prominent opponent of a programme that would have seen Croatian soldiers help train Ukrainian troops in Germany.
During the campaign, the two rivals have traded frequent insults.
Milanovic said his rival had the “brain of a pigeon and not a crow, which is intelligent”, while Primorac called the president a “disgrace” and a “coward”.
