In 1996 he was chosen as president of the HSLS, where he told his audience: "Do not fear, this is our country and we have the right to rule it as we like!" In that same year he ran as a presidential candidate, but was assaulted during the campaign. He did not win the presidency instead it was claimed by Franjo Tuđman, a fellow former dissident. But Tuđman's victory was disputed by Gotovac, who accused him of manipulating the results. As president, Tuđman did not undertake the sort of reforms hoped for by Gotovac and others, rather he became autocratic, suppressing the media if it dared to criticize him or his system, as well as limiting the civil and political rights of Croatian citizens. The following year Gotovac split from the HSLS to form the Liberal Party. Gotovac participated in a region wide movement of writers becoming politicians, for this occurrence took place in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, with Václav Havel being one of the most famous writers turned statesman.