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%.

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.

STA, 21 April 2022 - The German news agency dpa has reported that Germany has concluded an agreement to send heavy weapons to Ukraine with several other European countries, including Slovenia, which is to send its tanks to Ukraine in return for tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) from Germany's own stock.

The press agency, citing unnamed sources, said on Thursday that the agreement had been confirmed in Berlin.

Asked for a comment, the Slovenian Defence Ministry initially told the STA that it could not comment on potential agreements on sending weapons to Ukraine.

Later on, it said in a statement that Defence Minister Matej Tonin had talked with his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht via video call on Wednesday.

"At the meeting, they discussed how allied countries can help Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression, and from this aspect, different ways in which Slovenia and Germany can jointly help Ukraine," the ministry said.

According to dpa's sources, Slovenia will send Soviet-made T-72 tanks to Ukraine, while Germany will give Slovenia German-made tanks and APCs from the country's own stock.

That Germany has concluded an agreement on sending heavy weapons to Ukraine was confirmed on Thursday by German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, according to the French news agency AFP.

The sources say that, in line with the agreement, Germany will give Slovenia Marder and Fuchs APCs, while Slovenia is said to have asked for more modern weapons, including Leopard 2 tanks and Puma and Boxer APCs.

According to the information available on the website of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Slovenia does not have T-72 tanks, but Yugoslav-made M-84 tanks, an updated and upgraded version of T-72.

STA, 21 April 2022 - Slovenian police recorded 2,023 attempts at illegal crossing of the border in the first three months of the year, an increase of 77.5% over the same period last year. Afghanis account for over a third of all those intercepted, the latest police statistics show.

A total of 664 migrants were returned to foreign law enforcement, a 60% increase over the year before, with the vast majority returned to Croatia.

As the overall migrations figures rose, the number of requests for international protection surged, rising five-fold to 1,916, mostly on account of the uptick in refugees from Afghanistan.

The figures also include 300 Ukrainians, but this was before Slovenia activated the temporary protection mechanism under which all Ukrainian refugees are eligible for asylum and are processed in a fast-track procedure.

STA, 20 April 2022 - Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič has regretted the incident in which he got physical with a 13-year-old boy on Easter Sunday after what he says was an act of vandalism, while deciding not to resign as mayor. He has apologised to everyone involved and to the public, noting that he had only grabbed the boy by the arms.

 It was reported on Tuesday by the newspaper Večer that Arsenovič had been accused by a father of the 13-year-old of physically assaulting his son and causing him light injuries.

The father told Večer that on Easter Sunday Arsenovič attacked his son after he and a group of other children took some used tennis balls from a garbage can near a tennis court operated by the local tennis club.

In today's statement, Arsenovič said he regretted the incident and apologised first to the teenagers, and then to the parents, expressing the understanding that they wanted to protect their child, as he would probably do the same.

"I also apologise to all people of Maribor," he said, adding that "despite vandalism, wantonness and insults", he could and should have acted differently and less violently.

He reiterated that he only wanted to "stop the boy and teach him that common property should not be treated in such a way and that insults do not lead anywhere", adding that "he was very restless and upset, so communication was not possible."

The mayor asked the boy for a meeting. "Given that neither he nor I did the right thing, it might be time for us to meet, perhaps also with the parents, and to try to do something good together."

According to Večer, the boy's father does not accept the apology. "He has further hurt and humiliated me with his statement," he said, adding that "a person who cannot manage stress has no business holding such a position."

Local politicians have also responded to the incident, with some of them calling for the mayor's resignation. Arsenovič said he had considered resigning, but decided not to do so after careful deliberation and numerous calls to stay in office.

The father reported the attack to the police and filed a motion to prosecute the mayor for the alleged causing of light bodily harm. The boy allegedly has bruises on his neck, as evidenced by a photo, and his knee was also allegedly injured.

The mayor said he did not know where the boy had gotten these injuries from. "I certainly didn't grab him by the neck, but I did stop him," he said today.

Večer reported that an eyewitness has taken to social networks to say that Arsenovič was not chocking the boy, and that he had only grabbed him after the boy tried to get away.

Klemen Kokol of the tennis club denied that anyone was allowed to take used tennis balls around the court, adding that damage had been done to the property of the tennis club over the Easter holidays.

Arsenovič faced allegations of violent behaviour in the past, as he allegedly bit a part of a finger off a waiter some 20 years ago, and grabbed a young scooter driver by the hand and took away his keys last autumn after he caught him driving in the pedestrian zone.

"I protect the safety in pedestrian zones and I'm making an effort for scooters not to be there," Arsenovič said about the alleged incident at the time.

STA, 20 April 2022 - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek resigned on Wednesday after he became the target of media scrutiny over 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", and was accepting responsibility for this.

"This is a fact and I regret it," Podgoršek said in a press statement published on Facebook, which comes after a media report saying that he did not pay for the weekend stay at the hotel.

The anti-graft watchdog has already launched a preliminary inquiry into potential ethics breaches, while Podgoršek himself claims he was being blackmailed and has reported the matter to the criminal police.

It was the investigative portal Necenzurirano that reported last week that Podgoršek and his wife stayed at the hotel owned by crypto millionaire Damian Merlak but did not pay the EUR 800 bill, doing so only after being asked for comment this month.

After the report was published, Podgoršek said he had asked the hotel to mail the bill because he and his wife were in a hurry, but he said he did not receive the bill at that time and did not realise that until he was contacted by Necenzurirano.

The portal suggested the payment of the bill may have to do with KŽK, a company which owns vast tracts of farmland in Gorenjska and was until 2019 part-owned by the hotel owner Merlak, who has since severed all formal ties with it.

KŽK has been in a dispute with the Farmland Fund for two years over land that it leases from the fund and wanted to sublet to farmers. The fund refused to settle out of court and its director, Irena Majcen, was dismissed in November last year.

Majcen claimed at the time she was fired because she refused to heed to Podgoršek's pressure to settle in favour of KŽK and another company with a similar dispute, KG Lendava. The case is now in court.

The story took a turn yesterday with a statement by KŽK that the company paid Podgoršek's hotel bill, a copy of the paid bill, dated 30 January, having been obtained by several media.

KŽK said it was in a "totally subordinated relationship towards the minister and because the bill had to be paid, the hotel sent it to us and we paid it." But KŽK also said it "neither demanded nor received any favours or privileges."

Podgoršek yesterday "vehemently rejected" any connection with KŽK or allegations that the company had arranged for his private stay at the hotel, adding that he had paid the bill out of his own pocket.

According to Necenzurirano, Podgoršek demanded that the bill paid by KŽK be cancelled and a new one issued so he could pay it.

Podgoršek, who joined the coalition New Slovenia (NSi) party when he was already a minister and on whose ticket he now runs for the 24 April general election, claims he is being blackmailed by KŽK.

Commenting on the resignation today, NSi president Matej Tonin said he and the minister had had a long conversation yesterday, that Podgoršek had accepted the responsibility, and that the move was a "sign of political culture".

Podgoršek added that his "lack of attention to detail has been exploited by those who wanted to take advantage of it."

He is convinced that, by not succumbing to pressure and standing up for farmers from Gorenjska, he has "become very disruptive for some people".

"Some people apparently go to great lengths to issue and correct a multitude of bills to smear me. I have obtained various versions of invoices from the hotel these days, the purpose of which I can only guess," he added.

Podgoršek said that there were apparently two different bills issued to two different names and with different amounts for the same service.

He and his wife spent the weekend at the hotel based on a package that cost EUR 800, and the bill on Podgoršeks' names was sent to his private e-mail and paid.

The media have recently published another bill, issued on a different name and amounting to EUR 578. "I have nothing to do with that bill," said the outgoing minister.

He added that this was a "process against me and my family staged in advance, which is likely to continue these days with various fabricated pieces of information from those who want to harm me."

"My resignation does not mean that farmers from Gorenjska will be left to their own devices," he said, adding that he would do everything in his power to protect them by using all legal means available.

Tonin added that he was convinced that the issue had been raised because KŽK wanted to force Podgoršek to act in line with its interests.

Podgoršek, who was appointed agriculture minister in late 2020 following the resignation of Aleksandra Pivec for similar reasons, is the fourth minister in the Janez Janša government to resign before the end of the term.

In addition to Pivec, also to leave their posts in the cabinet early were Health Minister Tomaž Gantar in early 2021, after the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) left the coalition, and Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič in May 2021.

STA, 19 April 2022 - President Borut Pahor cast his vote on Tuesday in early voting for the 24 April general election, joining civil society organisations and prominent politicians in urging citizens to exercise their right to vote.

"Exercise the right to directly influence the future of our country," Pahor said after casting his ballot in Ljubljana, adding that each vote was an invaluable building block of democracy conveying people's expectations about the direction of Slovenia's development.

"The situation in Europe and the world, the post-pandemic era and the war in Ukraine, means that we will face more than the usual problems in the coming years. It is very likely that this period will also be marked by major strategic challenges for Slovenia and our shared Europe," he warned.

The president finds this is a cause for concern, but not for fear. "A sufficiently politically cohesive Slovenia is capable of turning all these challenges to our common advantage," he said. He also noted that without democracy Slovenia's independence would not have been and will not be.

A number of other senior officials also cast today their votes in early voting, which will last until Thursday, including Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj.

As early voting got under way, Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković called on voters to go exercise their right. Voting is a right and a duty, he said, adding that every vote counted.

He urged people to vote for politicians who will respect human rights and courts and strive towards a peaceful co-existence. "Let's put an end to terror, tear gas, fences," he added.

Civil society organisations have mounted their own bring-out-the-vote campaigns.

Voice of the People, a group of more than 100 organisations and several thousands individuals, has been informing people of ways to vote.

They have set a target of breaking the voter turnout record and, in cooperation with the taxi drivers' trade union, they will organise free rides to polling stations, an effort mainly dedicated to help the elderly.

The 8 March Institute, the NGO that has been active in recent weeks in promoting voter participation, is calling on citizens to vote by handing out flowers.

The Alliance for Democratic and Just Slovenia, a group uniting civil initiatives and liberal academics and researchers, also urged citizens to go cast their vote. "We are facing a historic decision: now it is more urgent than ever to go to the polls. This is an opportunity for all of us who want the best for our country, for ourselves and for future generations," they said.

They noted that every vote counts to help stop the undermining of independent institutions, media, judiciary and police, adding that the best solution was to vote for either of the five centre-left parties that are considered to have the best chance of being elected to parliament.

The Assembly for the Republic, a conservative association, meanwhile urged voters to vote for parties that "governed the country through the pandemic with minimal limitations to daily life".

The association's president France Cukjati, a former MP for the Democrats (SDS), said people should vote for those who have "freedom for all citizens" in mind rather than those who abuse political, media and financial power.

In what was a last-minute change, face masks are not mandatory at polling stations, but the National Electoral Commission decided to recommended their use in line with the recent government decision to make masks optional and no longer a rule indoors.

The exceptions are polling stations in community health centres or care homes where masks are still obligatory. Other preventive measures, such as physical distancing, use of hand sanitisers, disinfecting pens and ventilating the premises, remain in place.