25 Apr 2022, 08:00 AM

Freedom Movement Wins By Landslide as Slovenia Votes for Change

STA, 25 April 2022 - The Freedom Movement, a liberal party formed just months ago with a promise to end the rule of the Janez Janša government, won Sunday's general election with a landslide as Slovenians turned out massively to vote for change after a turbulent two years marked by Covid restrictions and growing polarisation.

With almost all the ballots counted, the Freedom Movement won 34.5% of the vote, which gives it 41 seats in the 90-member National Assembly, the most won by any one party to date. Janša's Democratic Party (SDS) won 23.5%, down almost 1.5 point from the 2018 election, but gained two seats to 27.

This is as only five parties made the 4% threshold to enter parliament, the lowest number since independence. New Slovenia (NSi), Janša's coalition partner in the outgoing government, garnered 6.9% to win eight seats, one more than in the previous election.

The Social Democrats (SD) mustered 6.7% of the vote to win seven seats, down three from the previous election, and the Left just managed to squeeze in with 4.4% of the vote to win five seats, having halved its tally.

The result means Slovenia is on a course to get a centre-left government with a comfortable majority as Robert Golob, the leader the Freedom Movement, is expected to form a coalition with the SD and the Left, which would have a total of 53 seats.

"Today dreams have come true, not only our dreams but also those of a large part of Slovenia," said Golob, addressing his voters remotely as he is self-isolating due to Covid-19, adding: "We believe power in fact is owned by the people and not the parties that have been usurping it for the past 30 years."

Both Golob and other centre-left party leaders highlighted the high voter turnout, at 69.7%, as a show of how much people wanted to see the end of the centre-right Janša government, which was often criticised for having used the Covid-pandemic as a pretext to curtail personal freedoms and attack independent institutions such as the judiciary and the media.

Civil society has also contributed to the high turnout, Golob said, adding that without having such a dedicated civil society in the last year and a half Slovenia would not have seen freedom.

Both him and the other centre-left parties have said repeatedly that their first move would be to support a civil-society-sponsored omnibus bill aimed at repealing what they see as detrimental laws and measures adopted by the outgoing government.

Janša congratulated Golob and his Freedom Movement on the victory but assessed the SDS come out stronger due to a higher number of seats in parliament, having won numerous electoral districts, including those where it had never won before such as part of Velenje, also known as the red fort for its traditional support of left parties.

He too hailed the high voter turnout, but said the election showed people's dissatisfaction with the opposition, which he said was "practically swept out of the parliament".

Golob, a 55-year-old energy expert from the western region of Primorska, decided to challenge Janša at the polls after he failed to win support late last year for another term as CEO of GEN-I after 15 years at the helm of the indirectly state-owned energy trader.

He took over a small green party and renamed it Freedom Movement at a congress in late January, along with several professionals who lost or quit their careers under the current government, with a promise to focus on green agenda, open society, normalisation, and modern welfare state.

As a party coming out of nowhere to win the election, the Freedom Movement follows a pattern seen ahead of each parliamentary election since 2011, when Positive Slovenia, a party formed by Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković that also included Golob won but failed to form a government.

In this election two such parties were squeezed out of parliament; the SMC, which won the 2018 election but has since changed its name to Concretely under outgoing Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek won just 3.43% as part of the alliance of five parties called Connecting Slovenia, and the LMŠ party, which came in second in 2018 to have its leader Marjan Šarec form a minority government, now won 3.72%.

Also squeezed out were SAB, the party of another former PM Alenka Bratušek, Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), which has made part of every government coalition since 2000, and the National Party (SNS), which returned to parliament in the 2018 election after being squeezed out in 2011.

The only party leader to offer his resignation over the poor showing was Luka Mesec, the leader of the Left, who announced he will seek a vote of confidence over what he described as a bad result.

25 Apr 2022, 07:32 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Monday, 26 April 2022

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Freedom Movement, wins election, centre-left gets majority

LJUBLJANA - Newcomer Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won the general election in a landslide, capturing 34.5% of the vote and an unprecedented 40 seats in the 90-member National Assembly, show near-final results after 98% of the votes have been counted. Preliminary turnout exceeded 68%, the highest since 2000. Prime Minister Janez Janša's Democrats (SDS) lost only one percentage point on 2018 to hit 23.6%, but because only five parties made it to parliament compared to nine four years ago, it increased its number of seats from 25 to 28. The NSi got eight seats on 6.9% of the vote, the SocDems ended with 6.6% and seven seats, and the left with 4.3% and five seats. The overall number of parties that made it to parliament dropped to five from nine as SAB, LMŠ, SNS, DeSUS and Connecting Slovenia failed to make the 4% threshold. Turnout exceeded 68%, the highest since 2000.

Freedom Movement president Golob declares victory

LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, the head of the new Freedom Movement party, declared a victory that he said would bring freedom into the country. He said true strength lay only in a team, a group of people, and no individual can attain what a cohesive and committed team can. He highlighted the high voter turnout, one of the highest in Slovenia's history, saying this was what gave additional weight to the election outcome. He also noted this came with great responsibility. Civil society has also contributed to the high turnout, he said.

SDS head and departing PM says his party stronger post election

LJUBLJANA - The departing Prime Minister Janez Janša, the leader of the Democrats (SDS), congratulated the relative winner of the general election, Robert Golob, and his Freedom Movement party in his initial reaction to the election outcome. He assessed that the SDS will come out stronger of this election due to a higher number of seats in parliament. Janša thanked all the voters who voted for his party, the SDS's election team and coalition partners. He is glad the voter turnout was high, saying the party wished such a turnout would be seen in every election. This election has displayed people's dissatisfaction with the opposition, he said, as the opposition was "practically swept out of the parliament".

NSi hails improvement in election, will be constructive

LJUBLJANA - The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) secured third place in the election and leader Matej Tonin declared the party would likely be in the opposition in the next term, where it would be constructive as Slovenia is facing many challenges. "New Slovenia is not afraid of challenges that are ahead of us and we will, most probably in the opposition, work hard that Slovenia will be doing better in the future," he added. If it ends up in the opposition, the party will not be a "radical or disruptive opposition", he said, adding that the party had learned that "throwing spanners in the works takes you out of parliament."

SocDems satisfied over attainment of common goal

LJUBLJANA - Social Democrats (SD) leader Tanja Fajon said her party was satisfied over "the attainment of the common goal", meaning that the new government will no longer be centre-right but centre-left. "People have been hungry for change and we must enable this change now." She described the election outcome as an unusual situation since only a handful of parties have made it into parliament. The party has a plan for the future and lots of potential. They will be a "stable factor in the new government to help ensure not just normality but also social justice and democracy".

Left leader Mesec to seek vote of confidence after election flop

LJUBLJANA - As the support for the opposition Left's almost halved compared to the 2018 vote, Left coordinator Luka Mesec said that the result was bad and significantly below expectations. He thus decided to seek a vote of confidence in the entire leadership. The entire executive committee will offer its resignation to the party council on Monday, Mesec told the press after almost all votes have been counted, showing that the Left has won some 4.2% of the vote to get five MPs in the National Assembly. "The offer of resignation means that we will talk about what went wrong. The fact is that the result is not what we had expected," he added.

Unions expect new govt to relaunch social dialogue

LJUBLJANA - Trade unions believe the election outcome shows voters have rejected the direction in which the current Janez Janša government has led Slovenia. They want social dialogue to be restored and a social pact reached under the new government, while the trade union of teachers wants their strike demands to be addressed. The election result shows Slovenia will have a stable majority government which will be much more in favour of democratic decision-making and social dialogue, ZSSS trade union confederation head Lidija Jerkič told the STA.

Doctors expect new govt to tackle issues in healthcare

LJUBLJANA - Medical organisations expect the new government formed after the election to deal with issues in public healthcare system as a priority with one of their demands being proper pay for doctors. FIDES, the trade union of doctors and dentists, said the new government would have to move from promises to action as soon as possible. The Medical Chamber called for a health system that will provide timely, accessible, safe and quality health services to every citizen based on the solidarity principle.

Group led by man with Covid enters Electoral Commission HQ

LJUBLJANA - A group led by ex-soldier Ladislav Troha and dubbed the Conscious Residents of Slovenia came to the seat of the National Electoral Commission (DVK). After they failed to respond to calls to leave the premises and stop obstructing the commission's work, the DVK called the police. Troha is reportedly infected with coronavirus. The group Conscious Residents of Slovenia, consisting of coronavirus deniers and anti-vaccination protesters, stormed the headquarters of the Slovenian public broadcaster last September, managing to get into the newsroom studio before the police intervened.

Minister says persecution of Carinthian Slovenians has left fateful mark

KLAGENFURT, Austria - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch addressed a ceremony in Klagenfurt on Saturday to mark the 80th anniversary of the first wave of persecution of Carinthian Slovenians. She said that the persecution had been an injustice that had not yet been given a proper place in the Austrian and Carinthian history. However, she also pointed to steps towards reconciliation, noting the apology of the Austrian president on the 100th anniversary of the Carinthian plebiscite and the recent apology of Carinthia's Governor Peter Kaiser on the 80th anniversary of the persecution, both of which were delivered in Slovenian.

Sip Šempeter sales, profit up significantly in 2021

ŠEMPETER V SAVINJSKI DOLINI - Sip Šempeter, which specialises in the development and production of farm machinery, saw both sales revenue and profit rise in 2021 after a decline a year earlier. Net sales revenue rose by 30% to EUR 42.1 million and net profit jumped by 46% to EUR 4.2 million. According to director Uroš Korže, this is due to higher productivity, and optimisation and digitalisation of work processes as well as good cost management in the face of inflation.

Coronavirus infections continue to drop

LJUBLJANA - A total of 489 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Slovenia on Saturday in what is a continuation of a week-on-week drop in cases. According to the Health Ministry, 221 patients with Covid as their primary or secondary condition are hospitalised, up three from the day before, including 33 in intensive care, five more. Two patients died.

24 Apr 2022, 21:49 PM

Golob Wins After 80% of Votes Counted, 5 Parties in Parliament

STA, 24 April 2022 - Partial results after more than 80% of the votes have been counted suggest the Freedom Movement won the election with 33.7% of the vote, more than nine percentage points ahead of the ruling Democratic Party (SDS), which is at 24.5%. Three more parties have made it to parliament. Turnout was at a relatively high 62%.

The coalition New Slovenia currently ranks at 7% and the opposition Social Democrats (SD) and Left at 6.6% and exactly 4%, respectively.

Connecting Slovenia, an alliance of five parties, and the opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) are each about half a percentage point below the threshold.

Under the current calculations, the Freedom Movement would get 40 seats in the 90-member legislature, the SDS 29, the NSi 8, the SD 7 and the Left 4.

On balance, the centre-left would have 51 seats in parliament and the centre-right 37, with the two remaining seats reserved for the Hungarian and Italian minority.

24 Apr 2022, 19:36 PM

General Election: Exit Polls Show Landslide for Golob's Freedom Movement

STA, 24 April 2022 - The Freedom Movement, a new party formed by former energy executive Robert Golob, won Sunday's general election in Slovenia with 35.8% of the vote or 42 seats in the 90-member National Assembly, exit polls suggest. The incumbent ruling Democrats (SDS) won 22.5% as only three other parties apparently made it to parliament.

Slovenia’s New “Freedom Movement” Party Focuses on Green Transition, Open Society

The only other of the current ruling coalition parties to have made it to parliament is New Slovenia (NSi), which exit polls, conducted by Mediana for the public broadcaster TV Slovenija and commercial POP TV, show won 6.8%.

The SocDems and the Left, which are likely to form a coalition with the Freedom Movement, got 6.6% and 4.4% of the vote, respectively, exit polls show, which however do not include voters who cast their ballots in the early election, where the turnout was a high 7.7%.

Given the exit polls, the SDS won 26 seats, the NSi eight, the SocDems seven and the Left five.

The parties formed by two former PMs, Marjan Šarec and Alenka Bratušek, are shown to have been squeezed out of parliament, as has the alliance that includes the party of the outgoing Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. The LMŠ won 3.8%, the alliance Connecting Slovenia 3.2% and Bratušek's SAB 2.9%.

24 Apr 2022, 16:56 PM

General Election: High Turnout as Slovenia Waits for Results…

STA, 24 April 2022 - Parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič told the STA as he cast a ballot in Velike Malence near Brežice today that citizens always made the right decision in election. Prime Minister and Democrats (SDS) head Janez Janša, who voted in Šentilj near Velenje, expressed a similar view. Several other party heads were optimistic as well.

Zorčič expects a tight outcome today. He said the election campaign had been relatively broad, as a large number of parties participated, while content-wise it had been "rather weak".

As a result, voters will vote primarily for or against the ruling coalition rather than based on contents, he believes. "But regardless, I'm sure that citizens always make the right decision," he said.

Janša expects a high turnout today, which he believes will be good. When election is democratic and people express their will freely, every result is a good result, Janša said.

Commenting on the election campaign, the PM said that for the government this had been a parallel activity and that it was different for the opposition. "Although if I look at my colleagues from the opposition I see they are tired, some even ill, so it must be something else."

He said he would have liked serious media to have made a comparison during the campaign between the first and second parts of the past term, "because we had government only in the second part of the term". He believes the campaign had been primarily a battle over who will take the credit for the results of the second part of the government term.

Today's election will decide how Slovenia will develop not only in the next four years, but in the next decade, he said, adding that many projects were planned and that it would be a shame if they were suspended.

SD head Tanja Fajon believes many people would turn out today. "Which means we all hope for a new beginning."

She said the campaign had been demanding, that her team had worked hard all along, was well prepared and had given its best. "We will get nervous in the afternoon, but in a good way. I'm very optimistic," she said.

New Slovenia (NSi) head Matej Tonin was also upbeat, as he cast his ballot, saying that today was a festival of democracy, when "we have the opportunity to express our will on what kind of future we want". He said he was optimistic about the results of this election as well as about the future.

Marjan Šarec, the head of the LMŠ party, was also in good spirits today. He said the campaign had been tough and that he was happy with the work done by his team.

SAB head Alenka Bratušek said she was happy to see more people vote than ever before. She assessed the election campaign as demanding. "There have been more debates than ever, but we've still travelled several thousand kilometres around Slovenia, shook many hands," she said.

24 Apr 2022, 03:51 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Sunday, 24 April 2022

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Covid situation stable

LJUBLJANA - The Covid situation in Slovenia remains stable. A total of 1,043 new case were reported for Friday, down by a fifth on the week before, Health Ministry data show. The overall number of patients with Covid as their primary or secondary condition declined by 26 to 218 and the number of ICU cases stood at 28. Seven people died.

Bosch Rexroth plans to relocate to Brnik

LJUBLJANA - The high-tech company Bosch Rexroth plans to open a new facility at an industrial park close to Ljubljana Airport and move all its existing production and development locations there. The EUR 13.2 million investment is expected to create 123 new jobs supported by a EUR 800,000 incentive from the government, which is yet to be confirmed.

Road haulage exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2021

LJUBLJANA - After dipping in 2020 due to coronavirus and lockdowns, Slovenian road haulage surged in 2021 to exceed pre-pandemic levels, Statistics Office data show. Lorries registered in Slovenia carried 98.9 million tonnes of goods and performed 25 billion tonne-kilometres, respectively up by 9% and 10%.

23 Apr 2022, 08:24 AM

Last Week in Slovenia: 15 - 21 April, 2022

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

If you’d like to keep up on the daily headlines then follow those here, or get all our stories in your feed on Facebook.

FRIDAY, 15 April
        LJUBLJANA - The Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants data shows that some 1,200 Ukrainian refugees have temporary protection status. A total of 18,415 have been officially recorded in Slovenia, but only 4,718 have been registered as most merely pass through the country. Some have already returned home.
        KLAGENFURT, Austria - Marking the 80th anniversary of the first wave of persecution of Carinthian Slovenians, Peter Kaiser, the governor of the Austrian state of Carinthia, apologised to the Carinthian Slovenians for the horrors they had to endure in a statement published on 14 April.
        RADOVLJICA - An upgrade of the rail track between Kranj and Jesenice, a key section that connects Slovenia's rail system to Austria, was officially inaugurated as the first project partly financed from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility.
        LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed plans to build a new general hospital in the north-western Gorenjska region, a project estimated at EUR 305 million, and a long-term care home worth almost EUR 27 million that is to be built in Ptuj in the north-east.
        LJUBLJANA - Bojan Dremelj, a former CEO of Telekom Slovenije, pleaded not guilty at a pre-trial hearing in a case in which three defendants are charged with abuse of office over Telekom's 2007 takeover of the Kosovo internet service provider Ipko.
        STARŠE - A 47-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband, who died at the scene in a village near Maribor in north-eastern Slovenia. The suspect, who apparently stabbed the 48-year-old man during an argument, was later detained. Several media reported the victim was sports journalist Aleš Tihec.

SATURDAY, 16 April
        ORMOŽ - Ground was broken for German motorhome maker Carthago's EUR 45 million new production facility in Ormož in the north-east of the country. Production at the new factory will start by next spring, initially with 160 new workers, said Sandra Županec, director of Carthago's Slovenian subsidiary.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Ukraine's national football team will be getting ready for the last match of the European part of qualifications for this year's World Cup in Slovenia, the sport channel Sportklub reported. The team will be training at a new modern hub at Brdo pri Kranju from 29 April.

SUNDAY, 17 April
        LJUBLJANA - In his Easter message, PM Janez Janša noted the importance of hope and unity of the nation, and expressed the wish that Christians show their responsibility by participating in the 24 April general election and choose "true leaders", according to a release from Janša's office.
        LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - Celebrating Easter, Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore noted that the Christian holiday was something that brought new hope and life, and Maribor Archbishop Alojzij Cvikl said the message of Easter was that a new beginning is always possible.

MONDAY, 18 April
        VIPAVA - President Borut Pahor assured his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić of Slovenia's continued support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans as Vučić paid a working visit to Slovenia, Pahor noted that to ensure peace and stability, leaders in the region must be careful not to escalate the situation.
        LJUBLJANA - Composer and pianist Janez Matičič, one of Slovenia's most notable contemporary composers, died at the age of 95. Centred around piano music, his oeuvre is famous for its modernist and experimental feel. In 2007, he received the Prešeren Prize for lifetime achievement.
        LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob's self-test showed a positive result so the leader of the new party Freedom Movement, seen as PM Janez Janša's main election rival, went into self-isolation only days before the general election and has since participated in a couple of televised election debates via videolink.

TUESDAY, 19 April
        WASHINGTON, US - The IMF downgraded its economic growth forecast for Slovenia in its latest World Economic Outlook, with the country's GDP projected to increase by 3.7% this year and by 3% in 2023, a downgrade of 0.9 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, from last October.
        MEDVODE - PM Janez Janša, the leader of the Democrats (SDS), noted his party's track record in government and its stimulus policies, and rebuked the opposition, as he addressed SDS members at the party's last major event before polling day. The convention featured a guest appearance by Manfred Weber, chair of the European People's Party, who endorsed the SDS and New Slovenia (NSi).
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor cast his vote in early voting for the general election, joining civil society organisations and politicians in urging citizens to exercise their right to vote. Voter turnout reached almost 5% in the first two days of the three-day early voting in what is a new record.
        MARIBOR - The Maribor Higher Court quashed the December 2021 ruling sentencing to life in prison Silvo Drevenšek, who pleaded guilty to murdering his former spouse and her parents in front of his four-year-old son on Christmas Eve 2020. The first life sentence since such penalty was reintroduced in Slovenia in 2008 was annulled because of a procedural error, and a retrial was ordered.
        MARIBOR - Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič was accused by the father of a 13-year-old of attacking his son and causing him light injuries. Arsenovič initially said he had responded to vandalism, but later conceded he should have acted differently and apologised, but will not resign. The father said he would nevertheless take him to court.
        LJUBLJANA - One of the two trade unions of Slovenian police officers filed a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and Robert Kos, the director for organisation and staff at the police, for alleged obstruction of union activity in the force and abuse of office.
        KOPER - A study commissioned by the Italian parliament and presented by a Slovenian environmental NGO advises against extending the lifespan of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK), the only such facility in Slovenia, due to quake safety concerns.

WEDNESDAY, 20 April
        LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek resigned after he became the target of media scrutiny over a lack of clarity regarding the payment of his weekend stay at an upscale hotel in Bohinj in January. He said he was "resigning exclusively due to the late payment of the bill" after claiming he was being blackmailed and reporting this to the police. The anti-graft watchdog has launched a preliminary inquiry into the matter.
        LJUBLJANA - The tracking poll conducted by Ninamedia for the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer showed the Freedom Movement and the ruling Democrats (SDS) remaining in the lead ahead of Sunday's general election. The Connecting Slovenia alliance would also make it to parliament, whereas the centre-left opposition parties LMŠ and SAB risk being squeezed out. The Left ranked third at 8.8%.
        WASHINGTON, US - Freedom House, a US NGO that evaluates the state of democracy around the world, said in its latest annual report that last year Slovenia saw the biggest democratic decline in the broader region. Slovenia is listed among the six countries that are still labelled as "consolidated democracies", but all suffered score declines due to the "corrosive effects of illiberalism and corruption".
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry into alleged political interference in the work of the police filed criminal complaints against Police Commissioner Anton Olaj and against Anton Travner, former police commissioner. They suspect them of workplace bullying and perjury, respectively.
        LJUBLJANA/UZHHOROD, Ukraine - Slovenian Red Cross reported that it had delivered 55 tonnes of food and 25,000 litres of water to war-stricken Ukrainians. The aid package will provide 40,000 meals for babies and 112,000 meals for adults.
        LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Faculty of Arts inaugurated a language centre for Catalan as part of its Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. The new course, which has been available to students since last autumn, is a valuable addition for the faculty, noted Katarina Marinčič, head of the department.
        LJUBLJANA - The French Institute in Slovenia decorated translator Suzana Koncut with the rank of Officer of the Order of the Arts and the Letters for her work in literary translation, notably in the past six years.
        LJUBLJANA - The Catholic publisher Družina and the Government Communication Office launched a monograph chronicling events from 23 December 1990 when Slovenians opted for independence in a referendum and 15 January 1992 when Slovenia was recognised as an independent country by the European Community, the forerunner of the EU.

THURSDAY, 21 April
        BERLIN, Germany - The German news agency dpa reported that Germany had concluded an agreement to send heavy weapons to Ukraine with several other European countries, including Slovenia, which would send its tanks to Ukraine in return for tanks and armoured personnel carriers from Germany's own stock. The Slovenian Defence Ministry initially declined to comment for the STA, but later said that Minister Matej Tonin and his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht met via video call on Wednesday, discussing "how allied countries can help Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression".
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken underlined in a phone call the need to continue supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity with strong security support. They also condemned the atrocities of the Russian forces in the war against Ukraine and stressed that Moscow should be held accountable, Janša's office said.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police recorded 2,023 attempts at illegal crossing of the border in the first three months of the year, up 77.5% over the same period last year. Afghanis accounted for over a third of all those intercepted, the latest police statistics show.
        LJUBLJANA - The government extended the regulation of heating oil prices under which retailers' margin is capped at six cents per litre. The decree entered into force on 21 April and is valid for 30 days.
        LJUBLJANA - Pollster Valicon expects a tough battle for election victory, with the Freedom Movement just slightly ahead of the Democrats (SDS), and the Social Democrats (SD), New Slovenia (NSi) and the Left also most probably getting into parliament. The fate of three parties - Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and Connecting Slovenia - is to be decided by tactical voters. Valicon estimates the turnout will be at around 68%.
        LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije posted a group net profit of EUR 37.9 million for 2021, up 52% over the year before, on sales revenue that was broadly flat at EUR 648.2 million. The group earmarked a total of EUR 208.2 million for investments in 2021.
        LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of energy company Petrol decided to distribute practically the entire distributable profit from last year, or EUR 61.8 million, meaning they will receive EUR 30 gross per share, which is EUR 8 more than in 2021. They also confirmed the management's proposal to split one Petrol share into 20 shares in order to improve liquidity and attract new investors.
        LJUBLJANA - The Bank Assets Management Company finished 2021 with EUR 178.4 million in revenue from asset management and a pre-tax profit of EUR 63.2 million, up by 57% year-on-year. The average annual return on equity, whose target value under law is set at 8%, reached 25%, the annual report shows.
        VENICE, Italy - The Slovenian pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale opened with the exhibition of paintings by Marko Jakše, one of Slovenia's most acclaimed painters, known for his surrealist Daliesque canvases. Jakše represents Slovenia at the prestigious visual art exhibition with Without a Master, which brings 13 canvases the 62-year-old artist has made in this century.

23 Apr 2022, 03:52 AM

Morning Headlines for Slovenia: Saturday, 23 April 2022

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA:

Close election predicted as Slovenia heads to the polls

LJUBLJANA - Final polls released before election blackout sets in indicate that the race remains close. Prime Minister Janez Janša's Democrats (SDS) poll at between 30% and 24%, with the Freedom Movement by his main challenger, former energy executive Robert Golob, at 26%-28%, though most polls give Golob a slight edge. In the second tier the Social Democrats (SD), Left and New Slovenia (NSi) are projected to easily make it to parliament with Connecting Slovenia trailing close behind. The SAB and LMŠ are in danger of not making the 4% cut, while some polls predict the anti-vaccination party Resni.ca could enter parliament.

Record 7.7% turnout over three days of early voting

LJUBLJANA - A total of 130,151 people or 7.67% of all eligible voters cast their ballots in the three-day early voting for the 24 April general election, which is the highest turnout in early voting for any election or referendum so far in Slovenia and more than 4.5 percentage points above the share of voters who voted early in the 2018 general election. The figure surpasses the early voting turnout for the waters act referendum last July by nearly three percentage points.

Final election debate on public TV goes awry

LJUBLJANA - The final debate of the election campaign hosted by the public broadcaster TV Slovenija on Thursday night ended in disarray after the host lost control of debate and opposition leaders walked out of the studio one by one after having their say. The leaders of 12 parties, both old and new, that have at least one deputy in the National Assembly took parts, reiterating thee positions and promises made throughout the campaign, as well as engaged in one-on-one attacks on each other. The debate triggered calls by staff and trade unions for the resignation of the director general and TV Slovenija editor-in-chief.

More problems with ballots for general election

LJUBLJANA - Following delays in sending ballots to Slovenians abroad, some of the ballots sent to Argentina got lost. As a stopgap solution, a model ballot was sent in pdf format and will be printed on site and stamped by an authorised member of the embassy staff. Also, some ballots were printed with old logos of political parties, leading to delays due to additional printing. The National Electoral Commission (DVK) said the problem was addressed and all ballots will have the right logos on polling day.

New revelations in Podgoršek case

LJUBLJANA - Tt was revealed that Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek, who stepped down this week, he had been in talks to sell a house to KŽK, the company which paid the hotel bill that triggered his resignation. Necenzurirano said it had seen correspondence showing he wanted to sell a 1923 house that his wife inherited to KŽK for EUR 200,000. The deal fell through. KŽK is the company that paid for Podgoršek's weekend stay at an upscale Bohinj hotel in January and stood to benefit from his help in a dispute with the Farmland Fund.

President Pahor receives refugees from Ukraine

LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor received people from Ukraine who took refuge from the war in their country in Slovenia. Ukrainian Ambassador Mykhailo Brodovych attended the reception as well to thank Slovenia for the hospitality and for the friendly relations with Ukraine, saying that "Slovenia is not a small country, Slovenia has a big heart." Pahor lauded the courage of Ukrainians in standing up to the Russian aggression.

Slovenia, Czechia share EU presidency experience

LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan hosted Czech Europe Minister Mikulaš Bek for a presentation of the priorities of the Czech EU presidency in the second half of this year. The Czech priorities will be adapted to the challenges that are the direct or indirect consequence of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The EU membership prospects of Western Balkans will be high on the agenda as well.

C-bank governor says Ukraine war to reduce growth, increase inflation

WASHINGTON, US - Boštjan Vasle, the governor of the Slovenian central bank, who is currently in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, warned of lower-than initially expected economic growth and higher inflation as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The consequences of the conflict are reaching global proportions, and they first reflected in higher energy and food prices, and they are also being increasingly reflected in economic trends, where the most exposed are the EU member states," he said.

SSH improves net profit by 74% to EUR 45.1 million

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), the state asset custodian, last year posted a net profit of EUR 45.1 million, or 73.7% more than in 2020. The rate of return on the SSH and state portfolio is currently estimated at 6.2%, which is 1.9 percentage points more than in 2020 and two points above plans. Dividends, revenue from asset management, operating revenue from revaluation and revenue from interest represented the bulk of total revenue.

Koper port confirms draft EUR 248m investment plan

KOPER - The supervisory board of Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole seaport, confirmed a draft investment plan worth EUR 248 million through 2030 designed to increase the capacity of the container terminal to 1.75 million units per year. The project includes expansion of the operative berth and warehouses on pier one, acquisition of additional container cranes, extension of rail tracks on the terminal, and new container storage capacity inland from the pier.

DARS net profit up 89% in 2021

LJUBLJANA - DARS, the national motorway company, posted a net profit of EUR 112.7 million for 2021, an increase of 89% on the year before, as tolling revenue almost returned to pre-pandemic levels after a deep slump in 2020. Total revenue rose by 17% to EUR 489 million, with tolling revenue up 18% to EUR 456 million, shows the company's annual report.

Unior group back in the black in 2021

ZREČE - Unior, a group specialising in forged metals and tools, finished 2021 with a net profit of EUR 11.1 million after posting a loss of over EUR 2 million in 2020. Sales revenue increased by 14% to EUR 239.7 million. Sales in the core forged metals business rose by 15.5%, whereas its tourism arm reported flat revenue due to lockdowns.

Secret 1990 command post declared national monument

LJUBLJANA - The commemoration park in a village in the south of Slovenia paying tribute to Tactical National Protection Command, a Slovenian paramilitary organisation that was established in 1990 to help the country form an ad hoc defence structure as part of its independence efforts, has been declared a cultural monument of national importance. The government adopted the decision at the correspondence session on Thursday, the Government Communication Office said.

Maribor mayor loses majority after teen incident

MARIBOR - Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič has lost majority in the city council after allegedly physically assaulting a 13-year-old boy on Easter Sunday. The mayor's coalition is left with 22 members on the 45-strong council, including 11 from his party, after the second largest faction, the List of Cyclists and Pedestrians, quit over the incident. Several councillors urged him to resign at a session on Thursday.

Businesses and consumers get more confident

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's business sentiment and consumer confidence have improved this month but due to what is seen as a potential cost-of-living crisis consumers are still less upbeat than they were a year ago with the respective indicator also below long-term average, fresh data from the Statistics Office shows. The business sentiment indicator in April was at 4.3 percentage points, up 2.7% from March and up 4.8% from April 2021, driven most strongly by an improved outlook in the services sector.

Covid cases down

LJUBLJANA - The number of new coronavirus cases was down in both daily and weekly comparisons to 1,154 cases on Thursday. The number of active cases in the country is estimated at just over 17,680. The overall number of patients with Covid decreased by five to 240, of whom 103 are in hospital with Covid as their primary diagnosis, four more than yesterday. 29 patients need intensive care, including 17 with Covid as their primary disease. One more Covid patient died.

22 Apr 2022, 15:28 PM

General Election: Polls Show Janša, Golob Ahead, Many Voters Undecided (Background)

STA, 22 April 2022 - Slovenian voters will head to the polls on Sunday in an election that analysts say will determine whether Slovenia continues on the conservative path paved by the Janez Janša government over the last two years, or takes a more leftist turn under newcomer Robert Golob and parties that are currently in opposition. Polls show everything is still open.

The most recent polls put the incumbent Janša and Golob, a former energy exec who entered politics just months ago, neck-and-neck, though most polls put Golob a few percentage points ahead with a bigger potential upside from voters who remain undecided.

Janša's Democrats (SDS) poll at between close to 30% in the latest projections by Parsifal, to 24% in polls by Ninamedia and Mediana. Golob's Freedom Movement ranks around the 26% mark in the Ninamedia and Mediana polls, and 28% in Parsifal's poll.

A separate poll by Valicon, conducted on a much larger sample and providing ranges rather than firm figures, has Golob ahead slightly at 21-28%, and Janša at 20.22%, with more room for tactical votes.

In the second tier the Social Democrats (SD), Left and New Slovenia (NSi) are projected to easily make it to parliament, though the NSi was hit by a late scandal involving Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek that may yet dent its ratings in the final days.

At the lower end the polls are no longer as unanimous, with both the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) on the verge of the 4% threshold and the anti-vaccination party Resni.ca well within range of parliamentary seats.

Given that Slovenia has a proportional representation system in which between six and eight parties are typically in parliament, the ranking at the tail end will ultimately determine who can build a coalition, President Borut Pahor having made it clear that he will give the mandate to whoever is first to produce 45 signatures.

The campaign, a grassroots-heavy effort combined with social media ads, but conducted mostly via dozens of TV and online debates, was initially overshadowed by the war in Ukraine but quickly turned to the government's track record during the two years of the Covid pandemic before becoming focused on the front-runners once both finally faced off more than halfway into the campaign.

Janša and his junior coalition partners highlighted the government's economic achievements, in particular low employment and high economic growth, as evidence they deserve a new term, but this opened them to criticism about profligacy that the opposition said set up Slovenia for hard times now that the energy crisis has hit.

The opposition also challenged the government's management of the pandemic, in particular the heavy-handed approach to restrictions and curtailing of the right to assembly, brandishing it as evidence of the government's authoritarian bent and warning Janša wanted to reshape Slovenia in Hungary's mould.

Golob, meanwhile, has run on his track record as businessman, having for years led a fast-growing electricity distributor that he took from a startup to a multi-billion euro company and which he has highlighted as a model for managing the country.

But critics singled out his high pay, roughly half a million euro gross in 2020, and his reluctance to disclose his tax returns. Some right-wing parties also implied he made his hands dirty when it was revealed he had a bank account in Romania that he said was opened by somebody else in his name as a result of identity theft.

Overall, the campaign and the coming vote is reminiscent of polls in 2011 and 2014, when new parties were formed just months before the election and managed to trump Janša, for decades the most dominant figure in Slovenian politics, to later fragment or disintegrate.

A similar bid by Marjan Šarec in 2018 fell flat, but he nevertheless came in second and managed to form a government by harnessing anti-Janša sentiment, which broke apart two years later and gave Janša another shot at becoming prime minister just as the pandemic started to surge.

One major issue in this campaign has been the work of the National Electoral Commission, which botched the mailing of ballots abroad, for which its director Dušan Vučko has blamed a negligent employee and slow postal company. As of yesterday, many Slovenians residing abroad had not yet received their ballots, making it highly unlikely that they can be mailed back in time.

NGOs have loudly protested this disenfranchisement of voters, and Janša himself implied that this could be an issue when he said at the party's last convention before the election this week that the SDS would fight for every voter and every vote, right until they have all been counted and verified.

Almost 1.7 million eligible voters will pick among almost 1,500 candidates for the 90 seats in the National Assembly. Given the record 8% turnout in the early election, analysts expect that turnout will be higher than in previous elections, when it barely exceeded 52%.

22 Apr 2022, 11:51 AM

Record Turnout in First 3 Days of Voting Ahead of Sunday’s General Election

STA, 22 April 2022 - A total of 130,151 people or 7.67% of all eligible voters cast their ballots in the three-day early voting for the 24 April general election, which is the highest turnout in early voting for any election or referendum so far in Slovenia.

The National Electoral Commission announced on Friday that 45,941 voters or 2.7% of the electorate cast their ballots on the last day of early voting on Thursday.

This compares to 20,857 voters or 1.22% of the electorate in the 2018 general election on the last day of the early voting.

Between Tuesday and Thursday, 130,151 people or 7.67% of all eligible voters cast their ballots, which is more than 4.5 percentage points above the share of voters who voted early four years ago.

This is the highest turnout in early voting for any election or referendum so far in Slovenia, surpassing the early voting turnout for the waters act referendum last July, which saw 84,196 voters or 4.96% of the electorate.

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