Reformist Mesic Wins Presidency

Populist politician Stipe Mesic won Croatia’s presidential election and immediately pledged to overturn the nationalist policies of previous head of state Franjo Tudjman. The country’s electoral commission said early today that Mesic had won 56.21% of the vote in the second-round runoff ballot, compared with 43.79% for Social Liberal party leader Drazen Budisa. The result caps an extraordinary two months for Croatia, which has seen its political landscape revolutionized following the death of the autocratic Tudjman in December. Mesic, the last president of the former Yugoslav federation before Croatian independence in 1991, has vowed to slash the immense presidential powers enjoyed by Tudjman and bolster the small Balkan state’s international ties.