Croatia’s newly elected centre-left president has pledged to make the country a more tolerant place after denying a second term to the rightwing incumbent, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. A former prime minister from the Social Democrat party, Milanović has promised to turn the page on the country’s wartime past, and advocated for Croatia becoming a “normal country” during his campaign. The Croatian presidency is a largely symbolic role, but analysts said the shift to the right during the campaign had threatened to poison public debate. Milanović was prime minister from 2011 to 2016, and overcame a reputation as an out-of-touch elitist to win the presidential vote. Croatia was the last country to join the EU, in 2013, and this is the first time it has held the presidency.

Source: The Guardian January 06, 2020 00:20 UTC