Politics

23 Apr 2022, 08:24 AM

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

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FRIDAY, 15 April
        LJUBLJANA - The Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants data shows that some 1,200 Ukrainian refugees have temporary protection status. A total of 18,415 have been officially recorded in Slovenia, but only 4,718 have been registered as most merely pass through the country. Some have already returned home.
        KLAGENFURT, Austria - Marking the 80th anniversary of the first wave of persecution of Carinthian Slovenians, Peter Kaiser, the governor of the Austrian state of Carinthia, apologised to the Carinthian Slovenians for the horrors they had to endure in a statement published on 14 April.
        RADOVLJICA - An upgrade of the rail track between Kranj and Jesenice, a key section that connects Slovenia's rail system to Austria, was officially inaugurated as the first project partly financed from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility.
        LJUBLJANA - The government confirmed plans to build a new general hospital in the north-western Gorenjska region, a project estimated at EUR 305 million, and a long-term care home worth almost EUR 27 million that is to be built in Ptuj in the north-east.
        LJUBLJANA - Bojan Dremelj, a former CEO of Telekom Slovenije, pleaded not guilty at a pre-trial hearing in a case in which three defendants are charged with abuse of office over Telekom's 2007 takeover of the Kosovo internet service provider Ipko.
        STARŠE - A 47-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband, who died at the scene in a village near Maribor in north-eastern Slovenia. The suspect, who apparently stabbed the 48-year-old man during an argument, was later detained. Several media reported the victim was sports journalist Aleš Tihec.

SATURDAY, 16 April
        ORMOŽ - Ground was broken for German motorhome maker Carthago's EUR 45 million new production facility in Ormož in the north-east of the country. Production at the new factory will start by next spring, initially with 160 new workers, said Sandra Županec, director of Carthago's Slovenian subsidiary.
        BRDO PRI KRANJU - Ukraine's national football team will be getting ready for the last match of the European part of qualifications for this year's World Cup in Slovenia, the sport channel Sportklub reported. The team will be training at a new modern hub at Brdo pri Kranju from 29 April.
        
SUNDAY, 17 April
        LJUBLJANA - In his Easter message, PM Janez Janša noted the importance of hope and unity of the nation, and expressed the wish that Christians show their responsibility by participating in the 24 April general election and choose "true leaders", according to a release from Janša's office.
        LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR - Celebrating Easter, Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore noted that the Christian holiday was something that brought new hope and life, and Maribor Archbishop Alojzij Cvikl said the message of Easter was that a new beginning is always possible.

MONDAY, 18 April
        VIPAVA - President Borut Pahor assured his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić of Slovenia's continued support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans as Vučić paid a working visit to Slovenia, Pahor noted that to ensure peace and stability, leaders in the region must be careful not to escalate the situation.
        LJUBLJANA - Composer and pianist Janez Matičič, one of Slovenia's most notable contemporary composers, died at the age of 95. Centred around piano music, his oeuvre is famous for its modernist and experimental feel. In 2007, he received the Prešeren Prize for lifetime achievement.
        LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob's self-test showed a positive result so the leader of the new party Freedom Movement, seen as PM Janez Janša's main election rival, went into self-isolation only days before the general election and has since participated in a couple of televised election debates via videolink.

TUESDAY, 19 April
        WASHINGTON, US - The IMF downgraded its economic growth forecast for Slovenia in its latest World Economic Outlook, with the country's GDP projected to increase by 3.7% this year and by 3% in 2023, a downgrade of 0.9 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively, from last October.
        MEDVODE - PM Janez Janša, the leader of the Democrats (SDS), noted his party's track record in government and its stimulus policies, and rebuked the opposition, as he addressed SDS members at the party's last major event before polling day. The convention featured a guest appearance by Manfred Weber, chair of the European People's Party, who endorsed the SDS and New Slovenia (NSi).
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor cast his vote in early voting for the general election, joining civil society organisations and politicians in urging citizens to exercise their right to vote. Voter turnout reached almost 5% in the first two days of the three-day early voting in what is a new record.
        MARIBOR - The Maribor Higher Court quashed the December 2021 ruling sentencing to life in prison Silvo Drevenšek, who pleaded guilty to murdering his former spouse and her parents in front of his four-year-old son on Christmas Eve 2020. The first life sentence since such penalty was reintroduced in Slovenia in 2008 was annulled because of a procedural error, and a retrial was ordered.
        MARIBOR - Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič was accused by the father of a 13-year-old of attacking his son and causing him light injuries. Arsenovič initially said he had responded to vandalism, but later conceded he should have acted differently and apologised, but will not resign. The father said he would nevertheless take him to court.
        LJUBLJANA - One of the two trade unions of Slovenian police officers filed a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and Robert Kos, the director for organisation and staff at the police, for alleged obstruction of union activity in the force and abuse of office.
        KOPER - A study commissioned by the Italian parliament and presented by a Slovenian environmental NGO advises against extending the lifespan of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK), the only such facility in Slovenia, due to quake safety concerns.

WEDNESDAY, 20 April
        LJUBLJANA - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek resigned after he became the target of media scrutiny over a 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" after claiming he was being blackmailed and reporting this to the police. The anti-graft watchdog has launched a preliminary inquiry into the matter.
        LJUBLJANA - The tracking poll conducted by Ninamedia for the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer showed the Freedom Movement and the ruling Democrats (SDS) remaining in the lead ahead of Sunday's general election. The Connecting Slovenia alliance would also make it to parliament, whereas the centre-left opposition parties LMŠ and SAB risk being squeezed out. The Left ranked third at 8.8%.
        WASHINGTON, US - Freedom House, a US NGO that evaluates the state of democracy around the world, said in its latest annual report that last year Slovenia saw the biggest democratic decline in the broader region. Slovenia is listed among the six countries that are still labelled as "consolidated democracies", but all suffered score declines due to the "corrosive effects of illiberalism and corruption".
        LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry into alleged political interference in the work of the police filed criminal complaints against Police Commissioner Anton Olaj and against Anton Travner, former police commissioner. They suspect them of workplace bullying and perjury, respectively.
        LJUBLJANA/UZHHOROD, Ukraine - Slovenian Red Cross reported that it had delivered 55 tonnes of food and 25,000 litres of water to war-stricken Ukrainians. The aid package will provide 40,000 meals for babies and 112,000 meals for adults.
        LJUBLJANA - The Ljubljana Faculty of Arts inaugurated a language centre for Catalan as part of its Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. The new course, which has been available to students since last autumn, is a valuable addition for the faculty, noted Katarina Marinčič, head of the department.
        LJUBLJANA - The French Institute in Slovenia decorated translator Suzana Koncut with the rank of Officer of the Order of the Arts and the Letters for her work in literary translation, notably in the past six years.
        LJUBLJANA - The Catholic publisher Družina and the Government Communication Office launched a monograph chronicling events from 23 December 1990 when Slovenians opted for independence in a referendum and 15 January 1992 when Slovenia was recognised as an independent country by the European Community, the forerunner of the EU.

THURSDAY, 21 April
        BERLIN, Germany - The German news agency dpa reported that Germany had concluded an agreement to send heavy weapons to Ukraine with several other European countries, including Slovenia, which would send its tanks to Ukraine in return for tanks and armoured personnel carriers from Germany's own stock. The Slovenian Defence Ministry initially declined to comment for the STA, but later said that Minister Matej Tonin and his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht met via video call on Wednesday, discussing "how allied countries can help Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression".
        LJUBLJANA - PM Janez Janša and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken underlined in a phone call the need to continue supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity with strong security support. They also condemned the atrocities of the Russian forces in the war against Ukraine and stressed that Moscow should be held accountable, Janša's office said.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenian police recorded 2,023 attempts at illegal crossing of the border in the first three months of the year, up 77.5% over the same period last year. Afghanis accounted for over a third of all those intercepted, the latest police statistics show.
        LJUBLJANA - The government extended the regulation of heating oil prices under which retailers' margin is capped at six cents per litre. The decree entered into force on 21 April and is valid for 30 days.
        LJUBLJANA - Pollster Valicon expects a tough battle for election victory, with the Freedom Movement just slightly ahead of the Democrats (SDS), and the Social Democrats (SD), New Slovenia (NSi) and the Left also most probably getting into parliament. The fate of three parties - Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and Connecting Slovenia - is to be decided by tactical voters. Valicon estimates the turnout will be at around 68%.
        LJUBLJANA - Telekom Slovenije posted a group net profit of EUR 37.9 million for 2021, up 52% over the year before, on sales revenue that was broadly flat at EUR 648.2 million. The group earmarked a total of EUR 208.2 million for investments in 2021.
        LJUBLJANA - The shareholders of energy company Petrol decided to distribute practically the entire distributable profit from last year, or EUR 61.8 million, meaning they will receive EUR 30 gross per share, which is EUR 8 more than in 2021. They also confirmed the management's proposal to split one Petrol share into 20 shares in order to improve liquidity and attract new investors.
        LJUBLJANA - The Bank Assets Management Company finished 2021 with EUR 178.4 million in revenue from asset management and a pre-tax profit of EUR 63.2 million, up by 57% year-on-year. The average annual return on equity, whose target value under law is set at 8%, reached 25%, the annual report shows.
        VENICE, Italy - The Slovenian pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale opened with the exhibition of paintings by Marko Jakše, one of Slovenia's most acclaimed painters, known for his surrealist Daliesque canvases. Jakše represents Slovenia at the prestigious visual art exhibition with Without a Master, which brings 13 canvases the 62-year-old artist has made in this century.

22 Apr 2022, 15:28 PM

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%.

22 Apr 2022, 11:51 AM

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.

22 Apr 2022, 11:36 AM

STA, 22 April 2022 - The final debate of the election campaign hosted by the public broadcaster TV Slovenija last 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.

Mostly leaders of 12 parties, both old and new, that have at least one deputy in the National Assembly were invited to set out their views on the challenges faced by the country and their promises for the next term, with healthcare and energy crisis ranking prominently.

They reiterated the positions and promises repeated throughout the election campaign with coalition leaders listing the successes of the current government such as high economic growth and record low unemployment. The leaders of centre-left parties meanwhile lambasted the government's track record, pointing to high public debt and alleging deteriorating democratic standards and corruption.

Leaders repeatedly engaged in one-on-one clashes, the most prominent being between Prime Minister Janez Janša and his main challenger Robert Golob, the leader of the Freedom Party, who took part by video link as he is self-isolating with Covid-19.

The host, Igor Pirkovič, asked Golob about a bank account opened in his name in Romania, which Golob said he only learnt about in December from the Tax Administration and which he said had since been closed by the bank. He also said that the address of the account holder was inaccurate.

Golob was also asked about disclosures by some media alleging that he had been transferred EUR 600,000 from Montenegro, a charge that Golob denied saying the man mentioned as the mule was a friend of Janša's, which Janša denied saying he knew the man but they were not friends.

The pair then exchanged accusations over the lack of transparency of the origin of each other's assets, after which Tanja Fajon, the SocDem leader, appeared to try to take control of debate and steer it away from the focus on the two front-runners.

Protesting over the chaotic state of debate and a lack of time allotted to him, Zmago Jelinčič, walked out of the studio, tripping when stepping off the podium and apparently falling off the screen, with a loud crash heard when he hit something. It later turned out he was unhurt.

After that the leaders of the other five opposition parties walked out one by one, first the Left's Luka Mesec, followed by Fajon, Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) leader Ljubo Jasnič, LMŠ leader Marjan Šarec and SAB leader Alenka Bratušek, after commenting that the state of debate showed the situation in which TV Slovenija and the country had been brought under the government.

After a break, debate resumed with the remaining guests, who each addressed their voters directly into camera.

In response to the debate, which invited strong reactions among the public, TV Slovenia staff said the show did not meet even the minimum of standards befitting a public broadcasting service.

"Journalists are distancing ourselves from such a programme, so ill-prepared and so-ill hosted, and would like to apologise to the viewers," senior journalist Igor E. Bergant wrote on behalf of the staff.

They believe the incident showed again why viewing ratings cannot be the ultimate goal of a public service. "Due to its unprofessional content, indecent for a public service, the programme did attract a high viewing rating as social networks went on fire over the fiasco."

They called on the news programme editor-in-chief Jadranka Rebernik and RTV Slovenija director general Andrej Grah Whatmough to step down, asserting the pair had lost the last shred of credibility and caused major damage to the service.

"The incompetence and bias demonstrated by the host, who obviously had full support from the head of the editor-in-chief is the result of the ill-prepared Election 2022 project, something that we have repeatedly warned of," reads the written response from the staff.

Meanwhile, the broadcaster's leadership regretted some of the guests leaving the programme early as well as insulting communication directed at RTV Slovenija staff during the show.

"We would like to emphasize that RTV Slovenija is an autonomous institution and as leadership we decisively support journalist and editorial autonomy and condemn any abuse of the public service and its creators to score political points," the leadership said.

A call for resignation by the RTV Slovenija leadership over the programme also came from DeSUS leader Ljubo Jasnič.

21 Apr 2022, 17:15 PM

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.

21 Apr 2022, 11:20 AM

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.

20 Apr 2022, 17:26 PM

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.

20 Apr 2022, 13:44 PM

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.

20 Apr 2022, 11:10 AM

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.

19 Apr 2022, 16:25 PM

STA, 19 April 2022 - The Maribor Higher Court has quashed the December 2021 ruling sentencing to life in prison Silvo Drevenšek, who pleaded guilty to murdering his former spouse and her parents in front of his four-year-old son on Christmas Eve 2020. The court has made the decision because six instead of five judges ruled on the case.

The ruling, the first life imprisonment since this sentence was reintroduced to the Slovenian criminal code in 2008, is thus annulled and the case is being sent to retrial.

The Ptuj District Court, which delivered the ruling in early December 2021, appointed a sixth judge to the panel deciding on the case to avoid extending the court procedure if any of the members for example got ill.

But a record of the meeting of the panel of judges held on 6 December shows that all six members ruled on the case, which is a major violation of the criminal procedure, reporting judge Simona Skorpik said at today's hearing at the Maribor Higher Court.

This is why the panel of judges of the higher court chaired by Breda Cerjak Firbas annulled the ruling ex officio without dealing with the contents of the ruling or the appeal filed by the defence.

Both the prosecution and defence were surprised by the decision. "A lot has been invested in this procedure and I am sorry it has come to this. But the court needs to be allowed to decide and rule. That is its function," senior prosecutor Teja Kukovec Belšak said coming out of the courtroom.

Drevenšek's lawyer Andrej Kac said he had been convinced that the ruling would fall but he did not expect it to happen this way. "I am surprised by the reason for returning the case to retrial at the first instance. I did expect, however, the ruling to be annulled and sent into retrial based on its contents and explanation."

According to the higher court's head, Drevenšek refused to attend today's hearing but he remains in custody.

Drevenšek confessed to the triple murder just before the end of the main hearing at the end of 2021.

The panel of judges led by Marjan Strelec almost entirely upheld the proposal of the prosecution, which argued that Drevenšek, who was sane when he committed the act, had killed three people out of revenge after the partner left him and demanded a division of common assets.

The defence subsequently lodged an appeal. Kac said the case was open for many reasons. He argued the prosecution had not managed to present evidence of aggravating circumstances, which are crucial for determining the sentence.

The murders took place on Christmas Eve when Drevenšek, 35, entered the house he used to share with his estranged spouse in Gerečja Vas, a small village in eastern Slovenia, after having agreed to give his four-year-old son a Christmas gift.

Once he entered the house, he stabbed her with a kitchen knife several times until she bled to death.

After killing his former partner, he entered the neighbouring house, where his son, at the time aged four, was minded by his former partner's parents.

He used the same kitchen knife to kill the grandfather, while the grandmother suffered injuries so bad she died in hospital later the same day.

Strelec said in explaining the ruling that the crimes had been proven beyond reasonable doubt and conducted in the worst form, and that Drevenšek had been aware of his actions, which had been premeditated.

18 Apr 2022, 18:07 PM

STA, 15 April - The parties standing in the 24 April general election mostly support raising defence spending, stressing that it should also cover rescue and protection. But they have different views on what these funds should be invested in and what the main threats to Slovenia are.

Responding to STA questions about defence, most parties pointed to Slovenia's commitments to NATO regarding defence spending, agreeing that the Slovenian Armed Forces should have good work conditions and equipment. However, many parties would invest mostly into equipment that can also be used for civil purposes.

The Freedom Movement and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) would give priority to such investments. The Freedom Movement would also strive to pick Slovenian suppliers. The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) too would opt for capabilities that can also be used in rescue and protection and against hybrid threats. It would stop the procurement of the 8x8 armoured vehicles.

Connecting Slovenia would purchase multi-purpose helicopters and tow trucks. Resni.ca would stop the purchase of "expensive tanks that are more or less intended for missions abroad".

The Social Democrats (SD) believe the energy and funds should be redirected towards cyber and air defence and strengthening of defence against hybrid threats.

The Democrats (SDS) advocate for consistent implementation of defence goals and commitments to NATO, EU and the UN, stressing that the army also has a big role in dealing with natural and other disasters. "Strengthening the defence power of the state and in particular the capabilities of the national system of cyber defence is vital in these times."

Meanwhile, the green party Vesna calls for a modern system of rescue and assistance, funded from the defence budget. The party would also develop stronger medical units within the army and invest in the food and energy security. With this in view, it would thoroughly review the planned investments in the army.

The National Party (SNS) would first change the concept of defence and only then secure funding, while the Left, Boris Popovič List - Digitalise Slovenia, Our Future and Good State, and the Pirate Party oppose raising defence spending.

Parties assert that Slovenia is not at risk in the military sense but are aware that the Ukraine war affects the sense of security, also in terms of the quality of life.

Their opinions on what are the main threats to Slovenia's security at the moment vary. The Freedom Movement pointed to the war in Ukraine, which "affects the sense of security among our citizens", and the SDS stressed the importance of cyber defence.

The LMŠ warned against provocations by the "ruling politicians" to keep Slovenia's security risks low. The Ukraine war has shown NATO is a guarantee of security for its members, the party said.

The SD listed hybrid threats, cyber threats, terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime. It also warned against destabilisation in the Western Balkans.

The Left thinks the biggest threat is the imperialist policy of "the so-called allies", which it believes is the main source of conflict and instability in the world.

Home League warns against foreigners who arrive in the country illegally, Resni.ca thinks the main threat is the prime minister's Twitter account. The Pirate Party sees the current government as the biggest threat.

Vesna thinks the biggest threats are the low food self-sufficiency, fragile health system, growing social differences, lack of solidarity, the possibility of cyber attacks, and corruption and crime.

The SNS thinks the biggest threat is NATO, "as due to America's extortion Slovenia will pay significantly higher prices for energy, food, industrial products".

Most parties oppose reintroduction of conscription. Only the SNS and Homeland League expressed strong support to the idea, while several other parties left this topic open for debate, as most believe a broad social consensus should be reached.

One of the first moves by any new government are usually replacements of top officials in the national intelligence agency SOVA and the police and then also in the army. In particular parties that are not in the government said they too would make staffing changes to hire professional and apolitical staff. The need for competent and apolitical top officials in these structures was also highlighted by the coalition parties.

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