section_path: Second term as Leader of the Opposition (2016)/2016 parliamentary election
section_name: 2016 parliamentary election
paragraph_text: 2016 parliamentary election
  
  In July 2016, SDP, HNS-LD and HSU formed the People's Coalition (Croatian: Narodna koalicija) for the 2016 parliamentary election. They were joined by the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), while the Croatian Labourists left the coalition.
  
  Leaked taped conversations from a meeting with representatives of veterans association, published on 24 and 25 August 2016 by Jutarnji list, in which Milanović made controversial statements against the neighboring countries of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have caused criticism. While commenting on Serbia's accession to the EU and their law on universal jurisdiction for war crimes prosecution on the whole territory of former Yugoslavia, Milanović stated that the Serbian government was acting arrogantly, and that he was willing to block Serbia's EU accession negotiations and also adopt a special law which would allow Croatia to prosecute Serbian citizens who committed war crimes in Kosovo, adding that "Serbs want to be rulers of the Balkans, but are actually a handful of misery". While commenting on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milanović stated that he wasn't "thrilled with the situation there" and complained that "there was no one he could talk to in Sarajevo", adding that he would like for Bosnia and Herzegovina to enter the EU even without all the preconditions being met, since "it's a country without law and order". In addition, he stated that he did not care about Za dom spremni salute but urged veterans not to use it because it is harmful to Croatia. Milanović's rhetoric during the 2016 electoral campaign was described by some observers as populist.
  
  The HDZ won a majority of seats in the parliament and formed a governing majority with Most, with HDZ leader Andrej Plenković becoming the new Prime Minister. Milanović announced that he would not run for another term as SDP president. On 26 November he was succeeded by Davor Bernardić as the president of SDP.