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This summary is provided by the STA:
Golob to informally meet Pahor, coalition talks to start Tuesday
LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, the head of the Freedom Movement party, the election winner, is expected to meet President Borut Pahor informally on Tuesday as the most likely candidate for the prime minister-designate. Talks with the Social Democrats (SD) and Left on forming a new coalition are also expected on that day. Golob discussed the party's priorities and candidates for ministerial posts with Radio Koper, saying his party will also talk potential cooperation with the LMŠ and SAB parties that did not make it into parliament.
Foreign policy analyst expects new govt to pursue moderate rhetoric, continue current govt's good projects
LJUBLJANA - Political analyst Marko Lovec believes that the new government should appear less frequently on the covers of foreign newspapers, pursue a moderate pro-EU policy and "will bring the rhetoric in line with its actual actions in foreign policy". He also hopes it will be mature enough to continue the good projects of the current government, for instance in relations with Croatia, where "things are moving in the right direction and it would be a shame not to continue" from there.
Diplomat Cerar expects new govt to continue active foreign policy
LJUBLJANA - Diplomat Božo Cerar expects the new government to continue the active foreign policy from the past two years. He sees the country's EU and NATO membership, a commitment to good relations with neighbours, and assistance to former Yugoslav countries in their bids to join the EU as the constants in Slovenia's foreign policy, and expects the new government to build on them. The war in Ukraine, active economic diplomacy and Slovenia's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council are the three main tasks ahead for the new government, he said.
Analyst Tomšič does not expect problems with coalition building
LJUBLJANA - Political analyst Matevž Tomšič does not expect the Freedom Movement to have major problems forming a government given that it can pick among several coalition partners and govern with only one other party if necessary. "He'll be able to avoid blackmail or setting of conditions since everyone will be replaceable," Tomšič, a professor at the School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica, told the STA. The government is likely to be formed fairly quickly, but this is no guarantee that the coalition will function smoothly, he said.
Analyst: Election outcome defeat for KUL, outgoing govt
LJUBLJANA - Andraž Zorko, director of the pollster Valicon, sees the election outcome as a "cruel" defeat for the KUL coalition of centre-left parties and "quite a bad one" for the Janez Janša government. He believes tactical vote prevailed as voters were keen to defeat Janša. Most of the vote they lost went to Robert Golob's Freedom Movement for a record tally of 40 seats. "History has been made again in Slovenian parliamentary democracy. And it was KUL parties, in particular the LMŠ and SAB, that were the victims of this rise."
Commentator does not see KUL as losers
LJUBLJANA - The result of the election is not a defeat for the informal KUL coalition of centre-left parties despite two of the four dropping out of parliament since they paved the way for Freedom Movement's victory, political commentator, blogger and podcaster Aljaž Pengov Bitenc told the STA. Absent what the KUL parties had been doing for two years, Robert Golob would not have happened. "He was able to achieve such a result based on what they were doing and what civil society movements have been doing. I don't know whether this is defeat," he said.
Chamber of Commerce hoping for good cooperation with new govt
LJUBLJANA - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) expects of the upcoming new ruling coalition to be open to the needs of business and to incorporate measures for the improvement of the business environment into the coalition agreement. Slovenian business executives said on Sunday they would like to see a new government formed as soon as possible, one with a strong majority in parliament and able to overcome the left-right divisions to the benefit of the Slovenian economy.
Youth: Housing, precarious work, mental heath priorities for new govt
LJUBLJANA - The National Youth Council wants the new government to address housing, precarious work and mental health as priorities concerning the young in Slovenia. In a statement for the STA, they said they want to be a key partner when the government starts addressing these issues. It expects the government to systematically address "the hard situation in which the youth have found themselves".
Both minority MPs re-elected
LJUBLJANA - The incumbent MPs for the Italian and Hungarian minorities, Felice Žiža and Ferenc Horváth, secured re-election on Sunday. Žiža got 60.8% of the vote to beat Maurizio Tremul among the members of the Italian community who cast their ballot. In the Hungarian community, Horváth got 58.3% of the vote ahead of Mihael Kasaš (23.2%) and Otto Močnek (18.5%). They expect a constructive relationship with the new government.
Record number of women make it to parliament
LJUBLJANA - As many as 36 women have been elected to the 90-seat National Assembly, which translates into 40% of all MPs, a record figure ever since Slovenia gained independence. The Freedom Movement, the election winner, leads the way - it has not only the largest number of women MPs but more than half of its elected candidates are women.
Pahor to visit Croatia and Germany this week
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor will be on two working visits this week - first in Zagreb on Tuesday at the invitation of his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović, and then in Berlin to meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday, the president's office said. Pahor and Milanović will discuss current issues in the region and Europe, and an in-depth discussion on various topical issues in European and international politics will be on the agenda in Berlin.
Pahor, Janša congratulate Macron on being re-elected
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša congratulated Emmanuel Macron on being elected the president of France for a second term in Sunday's run-off of the presidential election. Both believe Slovenia and France will continue with their good cooperation, noting the importance of working together to tackle current challenges and issues.
Fajon leaving European Parliament after being elected MP
LJUBLJANA - Social Democrats (SD) president Tanja Fajon will end her term as member of the European Parliament as she was elected an MP in the Slovenian National Assembly in Sunday's general election. The two posts are incompatible. The name of the successor to her MEP seat will depend on the coalition negotiations with the election winner, the Freedom Movement, said Jure Tanko, an assistant in Fajon's MEP office.
Lenarčič congratulates Golob, looking forward to cooperation
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European commissioner from Slovenia, Janez Lenarčič, who is in charge of crisis management, congratulated Robert Golob and his Freedom Movement party on Sunday on winning the general election in Slovenia. Several MEPs from other countries welcomed the election outcome, whereas European People's Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber lauded the SDS party of Janez Janša for its work in the past two years. The EU Commission meanwhile expectedly declined to comment on the election result.
Signatures filed to parliament to repeal several laws
LJUBLJANA - The 8 March Institute filed to parliament some 10,000 signatures in support of its bill aimed at repealing several government-sponsored laws the NGO finds harmful. We expect the new government to support the bill as its first move, and proceed to address the situation at public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, its head Nika Kovač said.
Tourism recovers in first quarter
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded close to 700,000 tourist arrivals in the first quarter of the year, a more than ten-fold increase over the year before and more than in the same period in 2021, Statistics Office figures show. Domestic tourists accounted for roughly 53% of the total, with guests from Croatia, Italy, Austria and Hungary accounting for the bulk of foreign arrivals. Total tourist stays were just below two million.
Covid hospitalisations up slightly despite declining caseload
LJUBLJANA - The number of patients in hospital with Covid has risen slightly despite the continued decrease in the number of new cases, which were down 18% over the week before to 328 on Sunday. The number of those hospitalised with Covid as their primary or secondary condition rose by nine to 230, whereas the number of ICU cases dropped by three to 30. Four patients with Covid died, Health Ministry data show.
Slovenian kid suspected of having hepatitis of unknown origin
LJUBLJANA - One child in Slovenia is suspected of having fallen ill with hepatitis of unknown origin, Mojca Matičič, an infectologist at UKC Ljubljana hospital, told the press. Further test results are yet to come in, but the child's condition is good. She said that scientists are yet to determine what causes the disease, which has been affecting children in Europe and the US.
Prolific painter France Slana dies
ŠKOFJA LOKA - One of Slovenia's most prolific painters France Slana has died, aged 95, several media reported. He was most known for his oil paintings and watercolours, but also for his prints, painted ceramics and tapestries. Slana was a painter of classical themes as his work is centred around landscape, figurative and still-life painting. He was one of the 1964 recipients of the Prešeren Fund Prize.
