Presidential election campaign gets going in earnest

LJUBLJANA - Today was the first day when candidates vying to become Slovenia's president in the 23 October election could submit their bids, and voters can formally support their candidates with signatures. The candidates have until 28 September to submit their candidacy with the National Electoral Commission. A candidate needs to be backed either by 10 MPs, by a party when they need three MP signatures or 3,000 voter signatures, or alternatively with 5,000 verified voter signatures if they run as independents.

SD without own presidential candidate

LJUBLJANA - The coalition Social Democrats (SD) decided they will not field their own candidate in the presidential election and will not endorse any of the candidates running. However, the party might decide to endorse one in a potential run-off, SD leader Tanja Fajon said. The SD had registered 71 potential candidates, but none of them had agreed to running, she explained. The senior coalition Freedom Movement had expressed hope in the past that its two coalition partners, the SD and the Left, would endorse its candidate Marta Kos.

Pirc Musar tops latest Mediana poll, closely followed by Logar

LJUBLJANA - Lawyer and ex-Information Commissioner Nataša Pirc Musar tops the latest public opinion poll measuring support for the presidential election conducted by Mediana for the newspaper Delo. She was picked by 26% of respondents, and is followed by ex-Foreign Minister Anže Logar at just over 23%. Marta Kos, a vice-president of the ruling Freedom Movement, is the only other presidential candidate with a substantial backing (14%). Delo's analyst Roman Zatler commented that the difference between Pirc Musar and Logar is too small to reliably predict who would win the first round.

Lifestyle coach Boris Vene joins presidential race

VRBA - Lifestyle coach Boris Vene joined the expanding list of candidates vying to become the next president of Slovenia. Presenting his bid in his home town of Vrba, he said he had decided to run because he thinks the time has come for prosperity for all people. He is supported by Healthy Society, a civil society group opposing mandatory immunisation of children and the latest changes to the communicable diseases act. Vene has already started collecting the needed 5,000 voter signatures.

Slovenia eligible for EUR 1.8bn in CAP for 2023-2027

GORNJA RADGONA - Agriculture Minister Irena Šinko presented a supplemented draft Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plan for 2023-2027 for Slovenia at the Agra agricultural trade fair. Under the strategic plan, EUR 1.1 billion will go for rural development and the remaining EUR 700 million for direct payments, beekeeping and wine making. Šinko said the two main objectives will be to boost self-sufficiency and sustainable development of agriculture. The government will discuss the document in September and then send it to the European Commission.

Police force struggling with staff shortages

LJUBLJANA - Police departments in Slovenia continue to struggle with staffing shortages dating back to austerity measures related to the 2008 financial crisis. The average age of a police officer rises by 4.5 months each year, while unions warn that many officers, especially from the east of the country as the main source of the force's workforce, are having to do extremely long commutes because they cannot afford the cost of housing in urban centres where they are needed the most. The force would need 150-plus new staff a year to replace those who retire or quit.

Religious communities concerned over gay marriage, adoptions

LJUBLJANA - The Council of Christian Churches and the Islamic Community in Slovenia addressed a joint statement to the government and both houses of parliament at the weekend to raise "concern over the changing of fundamental concepts of our society" after the Constitutional Court recently legalised same-sex marriages and adoptions. They say the decision undermines the constitutional provision which says that the state shall protect the family, motherhood, fatherhood, children and young people.

Police looking into claims of rampant sexual abuse

LJUBLJANA - Police launched an investigation in the aftermath of media reports and social media testimonies alleging multiple cases of sexual abuse by a prominent member of the art establishment. The police did not specifying who the suspect may be in Sunday's press release, but several media reported that Dušan Josip Smodej, a 28-year-old artist and leader of small Ljubljana gallery Fotopub, had sexually abused several young women. Smodej denied the claims, urging anyone who "can prove the contrary" to press criminal charges. Today, the police and an NGO urged potential victims to file criminal complaints in the case, and the Culture Ministry condemned all types of violence in a written statement.

More than 2,500 Covid cases logged in past three days

LJUBLJANA - A total of 2,664 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Slovenia from Friday to Sunday in what is practically level with the figure a week ago, and three Covid patients died, fresh official data shows. Yesterday, 94 patients were treated in hospitals for Covid-19 as their main condition, including eight in intensive care, which compares to 92 and nine, respectively, a week ago. There are now an estimated 18,700 active cases in the country.

SKB bank posts 20% rise in H1 profit

LJUBLJANA - The SKB bank, which is owned by the Hungarian OTP Group, posted a net profit of EUR 25.1 million in the first half of the year, an increase of 20% from the same period last year. The bank largely attributed the increase to the overall economic recovery after the Covid-19 epidemic. The bank's return on equity at the end of June was 1.2 percentage points higher than at the beginning of the year, standing at 11.6% percent.

June pay down almost 2% in real terms

LJUBLJANA - Gross pay in Slovenia averaged EUR 2,008 in June, up 0.9% in nominal terms compared to May, but down 1.8% in real terms. The highest average earnings were in finance and insurance, at EUR 2,932. Average net pay amounted to EUR 1,308, a month-on-month increase of 0.8% nominally and a 1.9% drop in real terms, shows the latest data from the Statistics Office. Nominally, the average monthly pay in the first half of this year was broadly level with the figure in the same period in 2021.

Greek film Mikrovioma wins FeKK Grand Prix

LJUBLJANA - The Grand Prix of the 8th annual Short Film Festival (FeKK) that closed at the weekend went to the Greek film Mikrovioma by Stavros Petropoulos. It is about the clash of two worlds - the people living on a Greek island and the scientists researching their long life. The FeKK SLO award went to Sutherland by Matjaž Jamnik and Gaja Naja Rojec "for an interesting portrayal of Christianity among the inhabitants of an African village that the authors framed into a painting that symbolizes their path".

Irwin, NSK founder Uranjek dies

LJUBLJANA - Roman Uranjek, one of the founders of two the most influential Slovenian contemporary arts collectives, Irwin and Neue Slowenische Kunst, has died aged 60, several media reported. Born in Trbovlje in 1961, Uranjek entered the art scene with the Irwins in 1983. The group became known for appropriating the iconography of social realism, Nazi propaganda, sacral art, and archetypical images of Slovenian art.

Jorgić takes silver at European Table Tennis Championship

MUNICH, Germany - Darko Jorgić won silver at the European Table Tennis Championship, the best result ever for a Slovenian table tennis player. Jorgić, ranked eighth in the world, lost 1:4 (10:12, 14:12, 11:8, 11:9, 11:2) to Germany's Dang Qiu, number 13 in the global rankings.

Kayaker Osterman adds bronze to silver at European Championship

MUNICH, Germany - Anja Osterman finished third in the women's 500-metre kayak event at the European Championship, to add bronze to the silver she won in the 200-metre event the day before. As the competitors crossed the finish line Osterman appeared to have missed bronze by a whisker, but the photo finish showed her neck-and-neck with Emma Jorgensen of Denmark.

Damage assessment under way after cyberattack on Disaster Relief Admin

LJUBLJANA - The information system of the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration was the target of a cyberattack on Wednesday with damage assessment still under way. Being that the civil rescue system is one of the three pillars of national security, Uroš Svete, the head of the Government Information Security Office, sees the attack as a very serious incident. The administration said 112 emergency call service and alert centres were not disrupted but some internet an e-mail services were.

Interior minister accuses SDS of political manipulation

LJUBLJANA - Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar accused MPs of the opposition Democrats (SDS) of political manipulation following their claims that the removal of the border fence between Slovenia and Croatia led to a surge in the number of migrants entering Slovenia illegally. The SDS is reported to be planning an ouster motion against the minister, claiming she is knowingly opening the border to illegal migrants and exposing citizens to danger. Bobnar said removal of the fence had no effect on migration.

Govt adopts guidance for hybrid work in state admin

LJUBLJANA - The government has adopted guidance on hybrid work in the state administration, recommending for employees to work one day from home, two from the office and two mixed days, depending on the needs. The hybrid system would only be used where possible and in agreement between the employees and their superior. The 1 plus 2 plus 2 hybrid model is also being introduced by the European Commission for its staff. The government recommends work from home to remain an option beyond the Covid-19 epidemic.

Probanka execs, entrepreneur get prison sentences

MARIBOR - The Maribor District Court sentenced to jail an entrepreneur and two board members of the former Probanka bank over the latter's overpriced sale of shares of NKBM bank to the entrepreneur in 2008. Each received a year and eight months in prison. The main defendant, the Velenje-based entrepreneur Tomaž Ročnik, was found guilty of abuse of office or trust, while bankers Milana Lah and Peter Lobnik were found to be complicit. The ruling is not yet final.

Alfi also acquiring Merkur store premises manager

LJUBLJANA - The newspaper Delo reported that after acquiring the hardware retailer Merkur Trgovina, the private equity fund Alfi now also reached agreement to acquire a stake in the company managing the store premises. The deal, which is yet to be signed, was reached with the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), which holds a 62% stake in Merkur Nepremičnine. Delo says the deal is unofficially valued at substantially more than EUR 10 million. In addition Alfi agreed to buy the company's EUR 13 million debt to BAMC and with the debt bought before would become the sole financial creditor of Merkur Nepremičnine.

Luzar's Orchestra wins award at Beijing Film Festival

BEIJING, China - Slovenian director Matevž Luzar won the film direction award in the Forward Future section of the 12th Beijing International Film Festival for The Orchestra, a story of a wind orchestra travelling to a music festival in a small Austrian town. The award jury has recognised Luzar for his "sensitive and cheerful narrative about the misadventures of a brass band on tour in a twinned Austrian city," the Slovenian Film Centre said.

Čeh takes discus silver at European Championships

MUNICH, Germany - Kristjan Čeh won silver in the men's discuss throw at the European Athletics Championships in Munich on Friday, having to concede to Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania, who broke the championship record with 69.78 metres in the fifth attempt to win gold. Čeh, the current world champion, sent his implement out to 68.28 metres in the fifth round for his best mark in the competition. Čeh's is the tenth medal for Slovenia at European Athletics Championships.

New coronavirus cases up by 9% week-on-week

LJUBLJANA - A total of 1,387 new coronavirus cases were logged in Slovenia on Thursday in what is a 9% increase week-on-week. Two patients with Covid-19 died, data from the Health Ministry shows. A total of 87 patients still require hospital treatment for Covid as their main condition, including 12 who need intensive care. The overall number is down by one, while the number of ICU patients is up by one compared to yesterday.