Croatia’s New President Still Waiting for Congratulatory Call from Prime Minister

Speaking in her first television interview since being elected Croatia’s President, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic says that she is still waiting for a call of congratulations from the nation’s Prime Minister…

Grabar Kitarović, who won 50.74% of the votes in what was the tightest presidential elections in Croatia’s history, says that whilst defeated incumbent president Ivo Josipović phoned to offer his congratulations, as well as a number of European leaders, there has been no call yet from Prime Minister Zoran Milanović. “I am sorry that Prime Minister Milanović did not call, that he did not act as president Josipović did. I think that it is time that he called to offer his congratulations, despite what he thinks of others. I hope he does that these days,” Grabar Kitarović said on RTL television on Monday night, adding that Slovenia and Slovakia’s leaders were one of the first to call to congratulate her.

No call from the PM

Grabar Kitarović stressed in her first interview that now was a time that Croatia united and did not become divided which is what has happened over the last few years. She stated that she wants now to get to work on lifting Croatia out of the deep economic crisis it is in together with Milanović. Grabar Kitarović, who says she will call Milanović herself if he does not call in the next few days, was the Croatia Democratic Union’s (HDZ) candidate, the opposition to the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP).