"The economic and social crisis in Croatia continues, which can be dangerous because it can bring about unpleasant situations," Caratan said, adding that the new president wants to defuse the political divisions. "It is in that light that I see her gratitude not just to the first president of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, but also to her predecessors, Ivo Josipovic and Stjepan Mesic," he told Hina.
"Apart from Croatia's orientation towards the EU and NATO, she also emphasised an interest in good relations with the countries of Southeast Europe, avoiding the term 'region'. The term 'Southeast Europe' does not have a geographical but political meaning," Caratan said.
Professor of Political Economics Luka Brkic said that he was pleased with Grabar-Kitarovic's inaugural speech, adding that it was appropriate to the occasion. "The President expressed views she has already expressed several times before, so there were no special surprises in that regard. Looking at it from the point of view of political economics, I was glad that in her speech she unequivocally recognised exports as a key component of GDP. That sounds good, especially when incorporated into such a ceremonial speech. It is important when the economy is mentioned in such a way at a ceremony charged with emotions and patriotism."
Political analyst Zarko Puhovski said that the President's inaugural speech was reasonable and well-balanced, but noted that he did not like the fact that Tomislav Mercep, who is on trial for war crimes, was among the guests.
"Grabar-Kitarovic obviously thought that she should show her breadth by having (popular writer and newspaper columnist) Ante Tomic on the one side and Tomislav Mercep on the other. That was supposed to be the proof of her concept of (national) reconciliation," Puhovski said, adding that Mercep was "too close to war crimes" to be invited to events such as a presidential inauguration.
Puhovski did not like the "folk style" of the inauguration ceremony either, saying that it departed from the President's messages. "In her speech she was a president for the 21st century and the ceremony was for the 19th century," he said, noting that her speech was devoid of any criticism of the government. "It was conciliatory, statesmanlike and forward-looking."
"I could even say that she questioned the policy of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president Tomislav Karamarko by saying that we should not be dealing with the past and dividing ourselves along the lines of whose father was what in the past, which is what Karamarko has been doing for the past year," Puhovski said.
"The inauguration ceremony was well executed. However, a certain, not so small a number of people booed at the mention of the names of former presidents Ivo Josipovic and Stjepan Mesic, which shows that Grabar-Kitarovic will have a lot of trouble getting her message across to the public at large," Puhovski said.