What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.
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FRIDAY, 30 October
LJUBLJANA - The government late on 29 October extended a number of anti-corona measures for a week as projections suggested case and hospitalisation figures would keep growing for some time. The week-long autumn school break was extended for a week for primary school children, and the list of exceptions allowed to operate during the lockdown was expanded with libraries as well as construction, maintenance and installation works where there is minimal contact with customers.
LJUBLJANA - Matej Tonin, the leader of the junior coalition New Slovenia (NSi) party, turned down the invitation to enter talks in a bid to form an alternative government after meeting economist Jože P. Damijan, a potential candidate for prime minister. Zdravko Počivalšek, the economy minister and leader of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), said talks on a possible government replacement were tasteless and inappropriate given the country was battling an epidemic.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's consumer price index remained in negative territory for the third month in a row in October, standing at -0.1% at the annual level despite a 0.3% rise in consumer prices over September, the Statistics Office said.
LJUBLJANA - Law professor Jurij Toplak joined an appeal by the Slovenian Journalists' Association for a system under which court decisions would be public by default, after access to decisions was constrained by May's Supreme Court ruling that he described as "one of the most damaging judgements".
SATURDAY, 31 October
CHARLOTTE, US - Ana Belac won the women's Carolina Classic golf tournament in what is by far the greatest success for Slovenian golf ever. By winning the US$200,000 tournament four shots ahead of the American Allison Emrey, the 23-year-old came very close to making it to the world elite in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
SUNDAY, 1 November
BRNIK - Due to the worsening coronavirus situation and restrictions, French carrier Air France announced it would suspended a number of flights in Europe, including to Slovenia starting on 7 November. A report by the Ex-Yu Aviation news portal meanwhile said EasyJet postponed the resumption of scheduled flights to Ljubljana airport.
MONDAY, 2 November
LJUBLJANA - The four centre-left opposition parties accused the government of brutal staffing and of undermining the independence of institutions as the National Assembly held an emergency session on the topic at their behest. While the opposition sees the replacements as guided primarily by party affiliation and servility, the government and coalition parties insisted the replacements had been legal and were normal under all governments.
LJUBLJANA - Good relations with Slovenia will remain a priority for the US regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, US Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard said in a video address, published on the embassy's Twitter on the eve of the election.
LJUBLJANA - The Day of Slovenian Bankers, an annual event, pointed to the need to direct the recovery measures for the current crisis towards socially responsible and sustainable development and to the crucial role of banks in this endeavour. Stanislava Zadravec Caprirolo, the head the Bank Association, and central bank governor Boštjan Vasle noted a favourable liquidity situation in Slovenia, with Vasle praised fiscal measures, chiefly the moratorium on loan payments.
LJUBLJANA - The programme council of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija did not adopt a motion proposed by 13 councillors to dismiss director general Igor Kadunc. The 14:9 vote in favour was one vote short of the necessary majority to dismiss him. The motion accused Kadunc, whose term ends in April 2021, of working negligently and causing significant damage to RTV.
LJUBLJANA - Job prospect projections in Slovenia for 2021 remain relatively encouraging; a survey by the Employment Service suggests demand will exceed labour market supply in many professions, although the opposite is also possible for a long list of jobs.
TUESDAY, 3 November
LJUBLJANA - In an address to Slovenian citizens, PM Janez Janša said Slovenia was "in for at least a month of a hard battle with the virus and then months of great caution", yet he believes the country can successfully weather the health crisis. As fast antigen tests become more accessible, it will be possible to contain individual outbreaks of the virus more easily, he said. Two polls meanwhile showed Slovenians are more optimistic about the future course of the epidemic and they trust the government more on taking action to stem the spread of the virus.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian officials condemned Monday's terrorist attack in Vienna and expressed solidarity with Austria. PM Janez Janša called for "zero tolerance against radical Islam" and President Boruto Pahor wrote a condolence letter to his counterpart. The Foreign Ministry said it was "appalled by the terrifying events in #Vienna", calling for unity in the fight against terror. The Islamic community in Slovenia also strongly condemned the attack, while defence experts Vladimir Prebilič and Iztok Prezelj believe the perpetrator did not act alone. Prezelj said the attack confirmed the links of Islamic radicals in Austria with the Western Balkans.
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Defence Minister Matej Tonin and his Hungarian counterpart Tibor Benko discussed possibilities for closer cooperation in protection and disaster relief in defence and security, including during the ongoing pandemic, as Tonin paid an official visit to Hungary.
LJUBLJANA - Viktor Vračar, until now the director general of the TEŠ coal-fired power station, became the new director general of the state-owned HSE energy group for four years after the supervisors dismissed Stojan Nikolić. The change at the largest Slovenian producer of electricity comes after October's overhaul of the HSE supervisory board.
LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije suspended the procedure to sell its Kosovo subsidiary Ipko Telecommunications, which was founded in December 2007. The company is the leading provider of fixed communication services in Kosovo and holds a significant share of the mobile telephony market.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia placed 11th in the EU in the latest Gender Equality Index, the same as in 2019. With a score of 67.9 points out of 100, slightly lower than last year, the country placed just below the EU average.
ALTO DE'L ANGLIRU, Spain - Defending champion and Slovenian rider Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) won the stage 13 time trial at the 2020 Vuelta de Espana, donning the leader's jersey again ahead of the remaining five stages.
LJUBLJANA - Japan honoured Slovenian Olympic Committee president Bogdan Gabrovec, a former judoka, with the emperor's Order of the Rising Sun, Golden Rays with Rosette, for promoting judo in Slovenia and exchanges of athletes between Japan and Slovenia.
WEDNESDAY, 4 November
LJUBLJANA - As the US presidential election drew much attention in Slovenia, PM Janez Janša tweeted it was "pretty clear that American people have elected Donald Trump" for another four-year term and congratulated the Republican Party "for strong results across the US". Twitter posted a warning about his tweet being posted before the election race was decided. The tweet also prompted a series of questions from foreign media at the European Commission's midday briefing.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian pundits do not expect any mayor changes in US foreign or economic policies regardless of who wins the presidential race. If Democrat Joe Biden wins, Ajša Vodnik, the director general of AmCham Slovenija, expects primarily changes in rhetoric rather than action. She also thinks Biden could strengthen the partnership with the EU. Kruno Abramovič from NLB bank meanwhile believes Donald Trump would take a more pragmatic approach should he win a second term, while he finds Biden a much bigger unknown.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Finance Minister Andrej Šircelj announced that Slovenia will send its draft recovery and resilience plan to Brussels by the end of 2020, whereas the deadline to submit draft national plans to draw from the EU's EUR 750 billion recovery plan is 30 April 2021.
LJUBLJANA - The ZSSS trade union confederation and the OZS chamber of small business proposed their separate sets of measures for easing the consequences of the epidemic as the government is preparing the sixth stimulus package. While the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) proposed a delay in the implementation of the 1 January 2021 minimum wage rise by two years and the OZS would like it delayed by at least a year, ZSSS warned againt helping companies at workers' expense.
LJUBLJANA - The Judicial Council endorsed Marko Ilešič and Maja Brkan as the candidates for Slovenia's two spots at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg. The country's efforts to fill the two spots began in June 2018, but no candidate got further than the vetting committee so far.
LJUBLJANA - The registered jobless total in Slovenia stood at 83,654 at the end of October, down 0.1% on September but up 15.5% year on year, the Employment Service said, adding that anti-coronavirus restrictions did not increase unemployment last month.
LJUBLJANA - Canada extradited a Slovenian man wanted on an international arrest warrant, unofficially Sergej Racman, who is wanted on prostitution and sex trafficking charges. The former owner of the cinema chain operator Kolosej is wanted for his alleged role in a prostitution ring that was allegedly operating in the Marina Sauna Club near Nova Gorica.
LJUBLJANA - Zdenka Badovinac, a curator, art historian and director of Slovenia's Museum of Modern Art, is this year's recipient of the biennial Igor Zabel Prize for culture and theory. Badovinac, at the helm of the museum since 1993, was honoured as one of the most important locally anchored and globally connected figures in cultural production in recent decades.
PIETRAMURATA, Italy - Slovenia's Tim Gajser won the penultimate race of the MXGP class of the FIM Motocross World Championship season in Pietramurata to secure the title of world champion by finishing second in the first leg. This is the third title for the 24-year-old motocross racer after the 2016 and 2019 seasons.
THURSDAY, 5 November
LJUBLJANA - The government extended a ban on movement between municipalities and a ban on gatherings of more than six people for another week while allowing some more services and businesses to reopen, including specialised shops selling baby items, technical goods, cars, bicycles and furniture. It also amended the coronavirus status of several countries as a result of which the whole of Croatia, Austria and Hungary plus Serbia and most of Italy will be on Slovenia's quarantine list.
LJUBLJANA - The government announced that after the extended autumn holidays, primary school pupils will switch to distance learning next week instead of returning to classrooms. Secondary schools launched remote teaching at the beginning of this week.
LJUBLJANA - The latest coronavirus figures showed a declining trend in new infections as the country limited testing to the most vulnerable groups. Hospital admissions and intensive care cases increased to new highs of 979 and 161, respectively, and the daily death toll peaked at a record 30, putting the total at 471.
LJUBLJANA - A violent protest originally organised by Anonymous Slovenia saw several hundred protesters clashing with the police, using flares and throwing granite pavement cubes at the riot police. Several people were injured, including police officers and a photojournalist, and ten rioters were apprehended. The organisers of Friday bicycle protests disavowed the protest beforehand. Prime Minister Janez Janša expressed support for the police.
LJUBLJANA - The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption detected multiple corruption risks concerning the purchases of personal protective equipment in spring as part of a focused review of these purchases. It will launch its own inquiries and inform relevant authorities of suspected wrongdoing that it not within its purview. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said that he had followed all the rules and that the report would help improve proceedings in the future.
LJUBLJANA - The European Commission forecast Slovenia's economy would contract by 7.1% this year, roughly on a par with its previous estimate. A rebound of 5.1% is expected in 2021, a percentage point lower than July's forecast. The economy is expected to return to pre-coronavirus levels in 2022.
LJUBLJANA - The Competition Protection Agency said it had launched an investigation into potential collusion among energy companies Butan Plin, Ina Slovenija, Istrabenz Plini and Plinarna Maribor, which are suspected of secretly agreeing to only accept the returns of their own liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.
LJUBLJANA - Trade unions voiced staunch opposition to the possibility of freezing the 1 January 2021 rise in the minimum wage, as demanded by businesses and supported by the economy minister. ZSSS confederation head Lidija Jerkič said the raise, legislated as part of the 2018 changes to the minimum wage law, was non-negotiable.
LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije, the majority state-owned telecoms incumbent, saw net sales decline by 4% year on year in the first nine months of 2020, to EUR 440 million. Net profit declined by 7% to EUR 27.4 million. The figures exclude the media arm Planet TV, which was sold to TV2 in Hungary, and the Kosovo subsidiary Ipko.
