ZAGREB, June 18, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday he expected President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to run for a second term in office, adding that it was up to her to decide on the timing of her formal announcement for the race and that his HDZ party was waiting for her "with open arms".
"As the HDZ leader I expect President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to run for a second term and I'm sure we will all support her together. It's up to her to find the right time for announcing her candidacy and I can see that the HDZ is waiting for her with open arms," Plenković said to loud applause at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary since the foundation of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
The chairman of the HDZ parliamentary group, Branko Bačić, told the press after the ceremony that Grabar-Kitarović would announce her presidency bid shortly. "She will announce her candidacy very soon, let's wait for a little while longer," he said.
Bačić denied the existence of documents or material that might compromise the president. Vladimir Šeks, one of the 'oldest' members of the HDZ, said on Sunday that there were "some stories going around about something that might compromise her."
"There are no documents or material that might compromise Grabar-Kitarović. I don't know about them and we in the party don't know about them. The person who said that should explain what this material is about. She certainly has no documents that would in any way compromise her joining the presidential race and her victory," Bačić said.
He said that Grabar-Kitarović's presidential term was excellent and that no statements made "on the eve of the campaign" could foil her victory.
Asked if Zoran Milanović, the presidential candidate of the strongest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), could threaten her victory, Bačić said that the HDZ had defeated Milanovic in the last six electoral cycles and he was confident that Grabar-Kitarović would defeat him in the seventh one as well.
"An unsuccessful prime minister cannot be a successful president. Had he been a successful prime minister, he wouldn't have lost to the HDZ in the 2015 election and in the 2016 extraordinary election," he said.
Bačić confirmed that Plenkovic and HDZ secretary-general Gordan Jandroković were in close contact with Grabar-Kitarović and were discussing her candidacy.
More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.
