ZAGREB, June 18, 2019 - Zoran Milanović, the Social Democratic Party's (SDP) candidate for president of the republic, said on Monday he wanted to be the president of a modern, progressive, inquisitive and open Croatia, adding that Croatia was in a "condition that can definitely be fixed" and that, if he succeeded in being a president with character, Croatia would be a country with a position.
"Croatia which in history, whenever it went forward, went forward only as a modern state. It wasn't afraid, it was aware of its tradition, yet was not immersed in it but knew how to swim in it," Milanovic told a press conference.
He thanked his "friends in the SDP who nominated me, but that's not enough." "Without the desire in me, that wouldn't be possible," he said, adding that "this desire exists."
"I want to be president of a modern, progressive, inquisitive and open Croatia. This is a time of change and Croatia is in a condition that definitely can be fixed," Milanović said.
He said he was entering the presidential race as a dark horse. "For the first time, I'm entering a race in which I'm not the approval ratings favourite," he said, adding that "I'm aware that everything depends on me."
Asked what his character was like given that his election slogan is "A president with character", MIilanović said, "I never said I was an honest politician or an honest man, so let people decide what my character is like. Character can also change. My character is something I carry with me. Judge me."
Milanović said he still believed the president should be elected in parliament. "As long as we are a republic, someone must hold that office. I think people too often considered that office bigger than themselves and that often turned into megalomania. That's why I thought something must be changed, regulated differently, that the president should be elected in parliament. But until that changes, it is what it is and that's why I'm running."
Asked whose political support he expected, Milanovic said he had talked with many and that support was welcome. "They say I'm the candidate of the left, but I see myself as the candidate and leader of a modern Croatia, a Croatia which isn't afraid, which is progressive, which doesn't fear those who are different and isn't surrounded by barbed wire, and I will fight for it."
He remarked that "one can lose, but one can't give up." "I'm not alone... but all responsibility is on me."
As for possible support from the People's Party (HNS), which was part of his as well as the incumbent government, he said the HNS went there where it should not have, and that he would try to win over those who were suspicious.
Milanović would not comment on the term of incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, but said that if he succeeded in being a president with character, Croatia would be a country with a position.
"Not an opinion but a position, which hasn't been the case in recent years," he said, adding that if he became president, "they will treat us with more respect, not because those who are running Croatia don't want that, but because they don't know that."
He went on to say that "my associates will be some people I trust" and that he was proud of the SDP's support.
More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.
