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.
