ZAGREB, December 23, 2019 - Ministers from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) quota in the government on Monday expressed confidence that incumbent President and HDZ presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović would win the second round of the presidential vote set for January 5.
Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said he expected Grabar-Kitarović to win in the runoff, and in a comment on the first round of the vote, he said that vote dispersion had occurred between two right-wing camps.
"In the first round the fact that there were two candidates on the right side of the political spectrum has caused a dispersion of votes and we all expect Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to win in the second round," Marić said ahead of a session of the inner cabinet.
Culture Minister Nina Obuljen-Koržinek said that she was not surprised by the outcome of the first round, estimating that Grabar-Kitarović would secure great support in the second round.
"There was another strong candidate who aimed for that part of the political spectrum but I believe that voters will think about the results of the two candidates (competing in the runoff) carefully and there will be no dilemmas then," said Obuljen-Koržinek.
Public Administration Minister Ivan Malenica said that HDZ members were not disappointed, but that nonetheless they had not expected the incumbent president to come in third in Zagreb. When asked what this said about the situation in the HDZ, he said that one should close ranks and support the HDZ candidate.
Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said that the outcome of the first round was as expected and that the second round was an entirely new game.
Asked if Grabar-Kitarović's result was a result of dissatisfaction in the HDZ, he said that presidential elections should be viewed separately from the situation in the HDZ, and particularly from parliamentary elections, where, he said, the HDZ was certain to win.
Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said he expected Miroslav Škoro's voters to support the HDZ candidate in the second round.
"We are counting on all votes," he told reporters and, as for possible cooperation with Škoro in parliamentary elections, he said that anything was possible.
"Any cooperation to the benefit of Croatian citizens is good and that is what the President said in her speech - Croatia above anything else, unity and the interests of Croatia and Croatian citizens," Grlić Radman said.
Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that the goal of making it into the second round had been achieved and that the game was about to begin anew.
Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said that he was not worried about fewer votes in Zagreb and big cities because "big cities were never the HDZ's strongholds."
Transport Minister Oleg Butković said that he believed the counties where Škoro had won in the first round would vote for Grabar-Kitarović in the runoff.
More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.
