section_path: Presidency (2020–present)
section_name: Presidency (2020–present)
paragraph_text: Presidency (2020–present)
  
  The inauguration of Milanović as the 5th president of Croatia took place on 18 February 2020. This was the first time that a presidential inauguration ceremony in Croatia was not held at St. Mark's Square in the city center of Zagreb, where the parliament and government buildings are located. Instead, Milanović decided to forgo the usual pomp of the ceremony by inviting merely some 40 guests, including state officials, former presidents, his family and members of his campaign team. This was also the first time that party leaders, diplomats and church dignitaries did not attend a presidential inauguration. The ceremony began with the performance of the national anthem by renowned Croatian pop and jazz diva Josipa Lisac, accompanied by pianist Zvjezdan Ružić, whose alternative rendition of Croatia's national anthem struck a different tone to the national anthem's usual sombre, bombastic delivery. This caused a lot of positive comments and negative reactions, which resulted in an unprecedented public debate about the national anthem and artistic freedom.
  
  On 24 February 2020, Milanović strongly condemned the burning of an effigy showing a same-sex couple with their child at a festival in Imotski, describing the incident as an "inhumane, totally unacceptable act", demanded an apology from the organizers of the event and stated that they "deserve the strongest condemnation of the public because hatred for others, intolerance and inhumanity are not and will not be a Croatian tradition". He also demanded a reaction from the relevant institutions especially as the event was observed by many children who could witness the spreading of hatred and inciting to violence.
  
  Milanović made his first trip abroad as president on 27 February 2020 to Otočec ob Krki, Slovenia, where he met with president Borut Pahor. The two of them firmly concluded that they would do everything to improve and make the relations between the two countries excellent, pointing out that they had known each other for over 16 years. They also discussed about the border issue between the two countries, Croatian accession to the Schengen Area and about the border controls implemented by the Croatian government due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Milanović also addressed the European perspective of Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.
  
  During the summer, Milanović visited Montenegro and met with president Milo Đukanović. He also canceled his planned trip to Russia, where president Vladimir Putin invited him to attend the 2020 Victory Day parade. In September and October, he got involved in a verbal confrontation with a number of prominent Croatian politicians, political analysts and journalists, including the prime minister Andrej Plenković. He voiced his opposition to lockdown and curfew, as he said he would arrest and put in a police van those wanting curfew and lockdown.
  
  In January 2021, Milanović refused to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 1993 Operation Maslenica because the Croatian Defence Forces ′ symbols were to be displayed. In September 2021, he publicly voiced his opinion that Bunjevci are Croatians. The national council of Bunjevci responded harshly to his statements, stating that Bunjevci had been living in Subotica for 350 years and that the difference between Bunjevci and Croats was clearly attested by historical sources.
  
  In November 2021, Austria's foreign ministry summoned the Croatian ambassador in Vienna, Daniel Glunčić, to give an explanation, after Milanović compared the lockdown in Austria to the methods employed in the era of Nazism.