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Josipovic, Bandic Likely to Vie for Croatian Presidency in Run-off

Stefan Bos | Budapest 27 December 2009

Croatia's outgoing President Stipe Mesic says he "is sorry" the former Yugoslav republic could not join the European Union during his two terms in office. He spoke at Sunday's presidential elections for a successor who is expected to lead Croatia into the European Union and help it overcome an economic crisis and corruption.

There are a dozen pro-Western candidates vying for Croatia's presidency, but opinion polls suggest the representative of the main opposition Social Democrats, Ivo Josipovic, will win Sunday's first round of voting. He has made himself popular with pledges to back the government's fight against high-level corruption.

The 52-year-old legal expert and classical music composer, who has an untarnished political career, but is viewed as lacking political charisma, is unlikely to receive more than half of the votes needed to win immediately.

He is expected to face the controversial mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandic or wealthy businessman Nadan Vidosevic in a decisive election round on January 10th.

Mayor Bandic was expelled from the Social Democrats and has been accused of corruption. Vidosevic - an ex-member of the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union Party (HDZ) - faces questions over the origin of his wealth.

Whoever comes to power is expected to lead the country into the European Union and out of a deep recession.

The outgoing 75-year old centrist President Stipe Mesic only managed to supervise Croatia's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance this year.

But Croatia's E.U. ambitions were delayed by a border dispute with neighboring Slovenia and international concerns over corruption. After voting in Zagreb, Mr. Mesic expressed his regret over this situation. He says he is "sorry" that during his presidential terms Croatia did not enter the European Union. But Mr. Mesic makes clear that he will support his successor's effort in anyway he can to reach E.U. membership as early as 2012. He also says the new Croatian president must adhere to the Constitution and together with the government, national and global institutions like the European Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund "must do everything possible to help Croatia overcome the current crisis."

Mr. Mesic has tried to overcome the social and political legacy of his country's recent bloody past. Croatia's decision to break away from what was Yugoslavia in 1991 triggered a war with minority Serbs and Serbia. Four years later, Zagreb recaptured lands seized by Serb rebels in 1991.

The Croatian president, who is elected for five years, has limited powers. He or she is supreme commander of the army, helps create foreign policy, appoints the prime minister and hires and fires the chiefs of the secret services. Official results are expected early Monday.