(Bloomberg) -- Croatian President Zoran Milanovic took a big step toward reelection with a first-round victory on Sunday, strengthening his role as a populist leader who has opposed NATO expansion and condemned military aid to Ukraine.
Milanovic, a 58-year-old former prime minister, took 49.1% of the presidential vote with more than 99% of ballots counted, making him the favorite in a Jan. 12 runoff with Dragan Primorac, a former science minister who got 19.4%.
A Milanovic victory would add to recent wins in eastern Europe for politicians with sympathies for the Kremlin. It would extend an uneasy cohabitation with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, a Ukraine supporter who won a third consecutive term in April.
“The future is uncertain for Croatia and the world, and I will fight for Croatia with an attitude, I’ll fight for the state of law, against the violence and usurpation by those in power,” Milanovic told reporters late Sunday, while also saying he’d seek political unity given a “complicated situation with issues at stake such as war and peace, and national security.”
If the final result puts Milanovic over the 50% threshold, he would avoid the runoff for another five-year term.
Croatia’s presidency, while mostly ceremonial, includes overseeing the armed forces and appointing top diplomats. Milanovic has condemned military aid to Ukraine as a “deeply immoral” path to prolonging the war with Russia.
He also prevented Croatia’s participation in two North Atlantic Treaty Organization missions to help train Ukrainian troops.
Over the last decade Milanovic has morphed from a left-of-center premier in a government led by Social Democrats into a populist whose penchant for insulting rivals has won him popular backing in Croatia — a European Union member that joined the euro area two years ago.
Following a stint as a political consultant, Milanovic was first elected head of state in 2020. He shook up parliamentary elections in March by announcing he would lead the Social Democrats to challenge Plenkovic — a plan that failed when Plenkovic secured a majority in parliament.
Before that, Croatia’s highest court ruled Milanovic’s bid to run for premier while holding the presidency was unconstitutional.
Milanovic campaigned against corruption that has plagued the ruling party and successive governments. About a dozen ministers have left cabinet posts amid graft allegations since 2016 — most recently a former health minister who was arrested in November for suspected abuse of office. He has denied wrongdoing.
--With assistance from Maxim Edwards.
(Updates with Milanovic quote in fourth paragraph.)
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