Dragan Primorac Surpasses Signature Threshold for Croatian Election

The news in Croatian

1. kampanja (f.)
   Organizirani napor u svrhu ostvarivanja cilja, često političkog. ↩︎
2. zahvalan
   Koji osjeća zahvalnost, sklon zahvaljivanju. ↩︎
3. građanin (m.)
   Osoba koja živi u nekom gradu ili državi i uživa prava i dužnosti. ↩︎
4. kritizirati
   Izražavati negativno mišljenje o nečemu ili nekome. ↩︎
5. trenutni
   Koji pripada sadašnjem vremenu; sadašnji. ↩︎
6. raznolik
   Koji sadrži raznolikost ili različitost; različit. ↩︎

Translation

Text Comprehension

Question: Who is Dragan Primorac thankful to for their support?

Question: When will the Croatian elections take place?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
kampanja (f.)	campaign
zahvalan	grateful
građanin (m.)	citizen
kritizirati	criticise
trenutni	current
raznolik	diverse

Read the full story

During an interview on a central news program, Primorac expressed his gratitude towards the citizens who supported his candidacy. He stated, “I have incredible support, and I thank all those wonderful people who believe in a better Croatia. This change must happen, and the current president will not remain in office after February next year.” Primorac underlined that the real test would be on December 29, reference to the election date, drawing parallels with unexpected election results such as Donald Trump’s victory in the US.

Primorac’s campaign promises include a focus on political stability, cooperation among all political players, and enhancing Croatia’s international reputation. He expressed criticism towards the current president, Zoran Milanović, for attempting to play both the leader and opposition. Promising to be a unifying leader, Primorac vowed to work constructively with the government but pledged to offer criticism when necessary.

Meanwhile, the signature collection process has highlighted various issues. Boris Jokić of the Institute for Social Research humorously commented on how long it would take him to gather signatures, suggesting an increase to 25,000 would make the race more interesting. Jokić also remarked on the candidates’ lack of authenticity when engaging in public disputes, noting they are less confrontational behind the scenes.

President Zoran Milanović, who began his signature collection in Čakovec, has stated that this campaign would be his ‘last tango.’ He expressed confidence in his supporter base, hoping to secure another mandate. Other candidates such as Ivana Kekin of the Možemo party and Marija Selak Raspudić, an independent candidate, have also started gathering signatures. Each candidate brings distinct agendas, from tackling issues like migration to emphasizing uniting the Croatian spirit.

As the presidential race intensifies, Croatian voters have until December 18 to verify and amend their voter registry information. This period of the campaign is crucial, offering candidates the chance to showcase their platforms and appeal to the electorate. The diversity among candidates this year promises an engaging election, with varying personalities and political standpoints competing for the presidency.

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