STA, 14 July 2022 - The MPs passed in a 52:27 vote on Thursday an omnibus act filed to parliament with voter signatures to change eleven laws passed under the previous government. The laws have been deemed by the 8 March Institute NGO as harmful to equality, human rights and the rule of law. The opposition SDS plans to challenge the act at the Constitutional Court.

The act on reducing inequalities and harmful political interference and ensuring the respect for the rule of law - the name under which it was filed to parliament - restores the legislation to the state before it was amended by the Janez Janša government either in fast-track procedures or without consulting experts.

The act has enjoyed the support of the parties that formed the new government after the 24 April election since it was presented this spring.

It prevents political staffing in the police force, foremost the National Bureau of Investigation, and interference in independence of state prosecutors.

The legal basis for the entry of platforms such as Uber onto the Slovenian market is being eliminated, and environmental NGOs will again more easily take part in planning procedures.

The culture minister will lose some powers in awarding public funds in public tenders while the Culture Ministry's expert commissions will gain some.

The act changes the corporate income tax act in that it lowers the basis for partly recognised entertainment costs and costs of oversight bodies.

Finance Ministry State Secretary Tilen Božič said during today's debate that this particular change will increase annual budgetary revenue by EUR 2.6 million.

The construction law, which excluded architects and landscape architects from being in charge of construction projects, will also be restored to the previous state. This has upset civil engineers, who have announced they will fight the latest changes with all legal means.

The act moreover changes the composition of councils at education institutions where the number of staff representatives was reduced, and foreign students will no longer have to have EUR 5,000 in their bank account as one of the conditions to study in Slovenia.

The act was endorsed by the coalition Freedom Movement, Social Democrats (SD) and Left, who said they thus met their pre-election pledge of cooperation with NGOs.

Voting against were the opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi), which argued it would be better to amend each of the 11 laws separately to enhance transparency, a point also raised by the National Assembly's legal service.

The SDS and NSi also find it problematic that the act cannot be put to a referendum as it contains changes to the corporate income tax act.

SDS MP Dejan Kaloh said claiming the changes passed under the previous government had "harmful consequences" was premature due to the short period since the legislation was passed.

Coalition SD MP Meira Hot meanwhile stressed the previous government had "planted" into coronavirus emergency legislation "a number of changes that had little to do with the pandemic but have permanently changed some social and systemic relations".

Today's debate largely focussed on changes to the weapons act which narrow down the eligibility to buy semi-automatic firearms.

The SDS argued this would amount to abolishing some sports, but Interior Ministry State Secretary Branko Lobnikar said the act does not ban any sport weapons. He explained the EU has made purchases of these weapons more difficult in the wake of terrorist attacks in Europe.

The 8 March Institute started thinking about drafting the act in November and collected some 15,000 signatures in spring to file it to parliament, while 5,000 are needed.

"We were wondering how to put an end to the feelings of helplessness when the previous government was trampling on democracy," its head Nika Kovač told the press before today's vote, happy that by supporting the act the coalition kept its pre-election promise of working with the civil society.

"Natural disasters call for emergency measures but the last two years were a natural disaster for the country's democracy," said Goran Forbici, head of one of the NGOs which helped the 8 March Institute in the omnibus bill effort.

Kovač said the whole effort was not easy as they had been constantly attacked and criticised, and announced legal action against those who insulted them and told lies at the Home Affairs Committee session on Tuesday.

Forbici, head of the Centre of NGOs of Slovenia, responded to the view that it would be better to amend each law separately, saying it would take four years to complete the process.

2 June 2022 - The new government of Robet Golob appointed its closest team of aides at its maiden session last night, including state secretaries at most ministries and the prime minister's office. Here is the list of new government officials:

The Office of Prime Minister Robert Golob
- chief of staff: Petra Škofic, Golob's Freedom Movement PR adviser
- state secretary for European affairs: Igor Mally, who held the post at the offices for three ex-PMs: Marjan Šarec, Miro Cerar and Alenka Bratušek
- state secretary for international affairs: Vojko Volk, former consul general in Trieste
- state secretary for strategical communication: Melita Župevc, a former MP and public relations expert
- state secretary for national and external safety: Andrej Benedejčič, former permanent representative to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other International Organisations in Vienna
- state secretary for defence and security policy: Anton Grizold, a defence studies professor and ex-defence minister
- state secretary for relations with the National Assembly: Maša Kociper, former head of the deputy group of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB)
- state secretary for dialogue with civil society and coordination of civil initiatives: Maksimiljana Polak, former advisor at GEN-I, the indirectly state-owned energy trader which Golob headed for 15 years
- state secretary for intergenerational dialogue and housing policy: Nataša Sax, former secretary at the Environment Ministry directorate for housing policy

Secretariat-General of the Government
- secretary general: Barbara Kolenko Helbl, lawyer

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- minister and deputy prime minister: Tanja Fajon
- state secretaries: ex-Foreign Minister Samuel Žbogar, diplomat Marko Štucin

Ministry of Labour, the Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
- minister and deputy prime minister: Luka Mesec
- state secretaries: Simon Maljevac, slated to serve as minister of labour, the family, social affairs and equal opportunities once the government line-up is restructured; Dan Juvan, elected MP for the Left

Ministry of Health
- minister and deputy prime minister: Danijel Bešič Loredan
- state secretaries: dentist Tadej Ostrc, former Labour Ministry State Secretary Breda Božnik, and nurse Aleksandra Lah Topolšek

Ministry of Finance
- minister: Klemen Boštjančič
- state secretaries: former Finance Ministry State Secretary Saša Jazbec, former Labour Ministry State Secretary Tilen Božič

Ministry of the Interior
- minister: Tatjana Bobnar
- state secretaries: Branko Lobnikar, security expert from the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, Tina Heferle, former MP from the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ)

Ministry of Defence
- minister: Marjan Šarec
- state secretaries: former LMŠ MP Rudi Medved, ex-PM Šarec's state secretary for national security Damir Črnčec

Ministry of Justice
- minister: Dominika Švarc Pipan
- state secretaries: ex-Court of Audit president Igor Šoltes, lawyer Sebastjan Zbičajnik

Ministry of Economic Development and Technology
- minister: Matjaž Han
- state secretaries: former Agriculture Minister Dejan Židan, Matevž Frangež, state secretary in the office of PM Miro Cerar

Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning
- minister: Uroš Brežan
- state secretaries: former Foreign Ministry official Uroš Vajgl, Matej Skočir, deputy mayor of the Tolmin municipality

Ministry of Infrastructure
- minister: Bojan Kumer
- state secretaries: Alenka Bratušek, slated to take over as infrastructure minister once the government line-up is restructured; Tina Seršen, so far in charge of legal and international energy issues at the Infrastructure Ministry

Ministry of Public Administration
- minister: Sanja Ajanović Hovnik
- state secretaries: Urban Kodrič, former head of the Koper-Postojna unit of the Market Inspectorate; Jure Trbič, member of the non-parliamentary Pirate Party

Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
- minister: Igor Papič
- state secretaries: Matjaž Krajnc, professor at the Faculty for Chemistry; Darjo Felda, mathematician and university professor

Ministry of Culture
- minister: Asta Vrečko
- state secretary: Marko Rusjan, Nova Gorica city councillor for the Left

Government Office for Slovenians Abroad
- minister: Matej Arčon
- state secretary: journalist Vesna Humar

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy
- minister: Aleksander Jevšek
- state secretary: Marko Koprivc, former SocDem MP

Government Office for Digital Transformation
- minister: Emilija Stojmenova Duh
- state secretary: Matej Kalan, founder of the HUB Kranjska Gora

*State secretaries at the Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Food led by Irena Šinko have not been appointed yet.

STA, 1 June 2022 - Below are the biographies of ministers in Slovenia's 15th government. The cabinet line-up will change once the law on the government is amended as planned by the coalition to add several more portfolios. Some of the ministries will be renamed. 

Tanja Fajon, Social Democrats, minister for foreign affairs

Born in Ljubljana in 1971, Fajon graduated in journalism from the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences before going on to complete a post-graduate course in international politics at the College of Interdisciplinary Studies in Paris.

Beginning her career as a radio and newspaper journalist, she went on to work at public broadcaster RTV Slovenija from 1995 to 2009, serving for several years as its Brussels correspondent.

She was first elected to the European Parliament on the SD ticket in 2009 and then again in 2014 and 2019. She gave up her MEP seat after being elected to the National Assembly in April. As MEP she was member of the Socialists and Democrats Group, her priority being the Western Balkans. She has served as SD leader since 2020.

She speaks English, German, French and Croatian.

Presenting her vision to MPs, she said that as minister she would be committed to the rule of law and common EU values. She stressed the importance of good relations with neighbouring countries and expressed support to EU enlargement to the Western Balkans.

She announced Slovenia would return to the "EU's core" and be committed to multilateralism and international law.

Succeeding Anže Logar as the first Slovenian female foreign minister, she plans to modernise the Foreign Ministry to reflect global challenges.

Luka Mesec, Left, minister of labour, the family, social affairs and equal opportunities

Born in Kranj in 1987, Mesec graduated in European studies from the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences in 2012. He has been active politically since his student years and served as director of the Institute for Labour Studies from 2013 to 2014.

He was a founding member and coordinator of the party called Initiative for Democratic Socialism, a precursor to the Left, and was first elected to the National Assembly in 2014 as a candidate for the United Left to become the head of the deputy faction.

He is currently what the Left calls "coordinator" of the party, staying in the post after offering resignation following the party's sup-par performance in the April election, but won a vote of confidence.

Mesec announced that as minister he would advocate welfare of all and put an emphasis on fighting poverty and precarious forms of work, and cutting red tape in welfare procedures.

He said the ministry would work to ensure that pension for full-time pensionable service is at least EUR 700 net. The minimum wage would be raised to at least EUR 800, as written down in the coalition agreement.

The post is a placeholder for Mesec, who will become the minister for a solidarity-based future once the government is expanded, in charge of housing and intergenerational solidarity.

Klemen Boštjančič, Freedom Movement, finance minister

Boštjančič is a 50-year-old economist. He served as chief supervisor at construction company Vegrad, which went into receivership in 2009. In 2011 and 2012 he was the CEO of the now defunct flag carrier Adria Airways, from 2013 to 2017 he was a supervisor at hardware retailer Merkur and between 2014 and 2017 at logistics company Intereuropa. Between 2016 and 2017 he was the CFO of Montecristo SL.

Since December 2016 he has served as the chairman of the state-controlled tourism company Sava and since 2017 also as the chief supervisor of Sava's key subsidiary Sava Turizem. Boštjančič is the sole owner and head of the consultancy Brio Svetovalni Center.

As minister he is expected to be in the spotlight over the announced new property tax. He would not say during his presentation in parliament when the bill could be expected but mentioned the year 2023. A precondition is that ownership, possession, and other rights in land are formally recorded "otherwise we will have a serious problem", he said.

He also indicated that he did not plan to rush with legislative tax changes although he has quite a few proposals. Regarding the changes to the income tax act implemented this year, which the new government would like to partly annul, he said it would take months to prepare changes.

He will strive for restructuring public spending, especially raising productivity and reducing structural deficit, which he sees as the main public financial issue.

Danijel Bešič Loredan, Freedom Movement, health minister

Hailing from Izola, Bešič Loredan became a doctor in 1999 and an orthopaedic surgeon in 2006. Starting his career at Ljubljana's UKC hospital, he proceeded to work for 13 years at the Orthopaedic Hospital Valdoltra in Ankaran. He has also worked in Switzerland and ran the orthopaedic department at the Nova Gorica Hospital in 2016- 2021.

The 50-year-old's current employers are the private medical centres Bitenc in Ljubljana and Šalara in Koper. Bešič Loredan has attracted public attention for highlighting corruption issues in the healthcare system.

Before the election he had indicated that he wished to remove politics from healthcare and "change what is understood under 'public healthcare'". "Public healthcare is the right of people to receive treatment ..., which needs to be secured by the state and it is through politics that fair, social and accessible healthcare can be attained".

After the coalition agreement caused a stir, saying that doctors and dentists in the public sector will be banned from working for private providers and that a non-compete clause will apply to them, Bešič Loredan downplayed the plans by explaining that both measures were planned for 2024, when the health system would be different and comparable to the systems of western countries.

During his hearing in parliament, he announced a clear strategy to deal with possible new waves of the Covid-19 epidemic by 15 September and plans to boost the primary level of healthcare to relieve the burden on the secondary level, including with an additional EUR 500 million in the next 18 months.

He also announced efforts to engage all capacities, including concessionaires and private providers, to shorten waiting times, with one of the first steps of the new team at the ministry being paying for all healthcare services performed this year and in 2023.

Tatjana Bobnar, Freedom Movement, interior minister

Bobnar, born in 1969, was the first woman to become the head of the Slovenian police force when she was appointed police commissioner under the Marjan Šarec government in late 2018. She was replaced by the next, Janez Janša government in March 2020 and assigned to a newly-established task force for migrations, in what was widely seen as an attempt to sideline her.

When it was announced that she was a candidate for interior minister, several civil society groups denounced her candidacy over pushbacks police conducted while she was the commissioner. Bobnar has said that if appointed, the basic tenet of her work will be a definitive strengthening of the rule of law, respect for human rights and basic freedoms.

Bobnar holds a master's degree from the Ljubljana Faculty of Law, but started her career at the Ljubljana Police Department as an investigator of juvenile crime, also investigating sexual abuse of children. Among the senior posts she has held are deputy police commissioner and Criminal Police Department deputy director.

As she presented her vision for the ministry at the parliamentary committee, she stressed efforts to restore trust in police work, independence and depoliticisation. She plans to pay special attention to femicide, and replace the border fence with cameras and drones, while also including the civil society, NGOs and local communities in efforts to tackle migrations.

She announced changes to the appointment of the police commissioner and chief of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and potentially an internal overhaul of the NBI, which has been criticised for becoming too politicised during the Janša government.

Marjan Šarec, Freedom Movement, defence minister

Šarec, born in 1977, became Slovenia's prime minister in 2018 after entering the national political arena as a newcomer in 2017 when he made it to the run-off of the presidential election in late 2017 with incumbent Borut Pahor. He had been a prominent TV and radio comedian before entering politics by winning the mayorship in Kamnik.

Having obtained a university degree in acting in 2001, he started working for public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and soon made a name for himself as a voice imitator on the broadcaster's flagship satirical show Radio Ga-Ga and its several TV offshoots, excelling as the voice of two Slovenian presidents and several party leaders.

Elected mayor in 2010, he served two terms before entering the presidential race, and formed a minority government after the June 2018 general election. He stepped down two years into the job hoping for an early election, a move which backfired and led to the formation of the Janez Janša government. His LMŠ party failed to enter parliament this year and is merging with the Freedom Party, hence his ministerial candidacy.

He has announced that he will re-introduce the concept of territorial defence, and transfer the power of deploying Slovenian troops abroad to the National Assembly.

As the coalition agreement prioritises updating the concept of defence policy, he intends to revise some key documents that are considered outdated or inadequate.

Within NATO, he wants to open a discussion on target capabilities and assess whether the concept of building a medium-sized battalion group and a reconnaissance battalion goes in the right direction.

He announced changes to the long-term programme of development and equipment for the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF), the law on investments in the SAF for 2021-2026, and the defence programme until 2026.

Dominika Švarc Pipan, Social Democrats, justice minister

Born in 1978, Švarc Pipan graduated from the Ljubljana Faculty of Law in 2003, and in 2011 she earned the PhD degree in political sciences at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences.

Švarc Pipan has worked as specialised assistant at the International Court of Justice and as defence counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

She was a state secretary at the Justice Ministry between 2018 and 2020. Currently, she runs a legal and business consultancy company. She is a vice-president of the Social Democrats (SD).

Appearing before the relevant parliamentary committee, she expressed her commitment to the rule of law as an ideal that everyone should aspire to and an essential element to restore trust in society.

Setting out her priorities, she pledged to focus on ensuring quality cooperation between the prosecution and the police in the phase of investigation not yet run by the court.

Among measures that would go beyond one government term, she listed a project to reform the court network, remove politics from appointments of judges and reform the system of the national bar exam.

Matjaž Han, Social Democrats, economy minister

Born in Celje in 1971, Han graduated from the Celje Secondary School of Trade and Commerce. He has been been a member of the National Assembly since 2004, doing double duty as the mayor of Radeče from 2006 to 2011.

He is considered one of the most influential senior members of the Social Democrats and headed the party's deputy group from 2013 through to the end of the previous parliament's term.

His family have a company, M&M International, that he ran between 1992 and 2004 before his spouse took over. He plans to divest his stake.

Han announced robust social dialogue but said there would be no cap on social contributions under the new government. He believes businesses should be helped in other ways, for instance through funds for development-oriented jobs.

His priorities will be better access to sources of financing, a more efficient business environment and more efficient administrative procedures, also for building permits.

Regarding the mini tax reform of the outgoing government, he said he would keep the solutions that have little impact on budget revenue.

Once the reform of the government portfolios is completed, Han will also take charge of sport.

Bojan Kumer, Freedom Movement, infrastructure minister

Born in July 1974, Kumer has a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Ljubljana Faculty of Electrical Engineering. His first job was with the power distributor Elektro Celje. His most recent job was at energy trader GEN-I in 2009, where he was a close associate of Robert Golob.

He was a state secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure in 2013-2014 and in 2018-2020, in between the terms and after he served as director of Elektro Energija, a power provider affiliated with GEN-I.

Once amendments to the government have been endorsed, Kumer is to take over as minister of climate and energy, and Alenka Bratušek is to return as infrastructure minister, a post she held in 2018-20. Until then Bratušek will serve as one of the state secretaries at the ministry.

In his presentation on the parliamentary committee, Kumer pledged to make green transition the guiding principle of energy and infrastructure policies. He promised further investment in railways and renewables, digitalisation of traffic flows and measures to mitigate soaring energy prices.

The cornerstones of energy policy would be stimulating investment in renewable energy, mitigating the impact of rising energy prices and creating a basis for a fair transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

He announced a special law to ease the siting of renewable energy sources in locations where this is possible. He sees potential in self-supply, community supply, and plans to promote development of agrovoltaics to give farmers the chance to self-supply.

Rising energy prices would be mitigated by means of targeted-measures to help vulnerable individuals and the businesses which contribute responsibly to development, as well as farmers. If necessary prices for all vulnerable consumers would be regulated. Kumer also mentioned emergency gas supply.

Uroš Brežan, Freedom Movement, environment and spatial planning minister

Brežan, born in 1972, is coming to the ministerial office from his fourth four-year term as Tolmin mayor, a post he was first elected to in 2006. He holds a university degree in economics from the Ljubljana School of Economics and Business.

Brežan served as a vice-president of the Slovenian Youth Party (SMS) in 2004-2014 and as a member of the upper chamber of parliament in 2012-2017. He entered this year's election race on the slate of the newly-formed Freedom Movement.

He announced changes to the recently passed environment protection act as well as action in water management, climate and housing policies while stressing the importance of environment protection. He plans to tackle degraded areas and improve oversight over emissions.

He will seek a broad social consensus and promote circular economy. He thinks a limited amount of waste could be processed in Slovenia in line with the highest environment standards.

In spatial planning, Brežan will give priority to the public and common interests over private interests, while he promised to draft a spatial development strategy until 2050.

Once the government is expanded, Brežan is slated to take over the new ministry of natural resources and spatial planning.

Igor Papič, Freedom Movement, minister of education, science and sport

Papič, born in 1966, holds a PhD from the Ljubljana Faculty of Electrical Engineering and served one term as the rector of the University of Ljubljana in 2017-2021. He is currently a professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

During his career he has also worked at Siemens in Germany, was a visiting professor at the University of Manitoba, Canada, in 2001, while also lecturing at various other universities. He has also served as dean of his faculty, and has led a number of projects, including international ones.

Before the parliamentary Education Committee, Papič announced a white paper on education would be compiled to set guidance for a decade, repeated the new coalition's pledge to raise science and research funding to 1.5% of GDP over the next four years, and pledged to assess the impact remote schooling has had on students.

As for public schools having private competition, he said "no-one opposes concessions, but the rules must be clear for everyone". Competition should be enhanced by having more quality universities, he said, adding that Slovenian public universities had fierce competition abroad but not at home.

Papič also wants changes to the national exams at primary schools, whose results should be one of the criteria for admission to the secondary school of choice, announced free textbooks and school meals, and said the workload on teachers should be reduced through recruitment of additional staff and less paperwork.

Papič will take over as minister of higher education, science and innovation when the current education ministry is split under the government's plans.

Sanja Ajanović Hovnik, Freedom Movement, public administration minister

Born in 1977, Ajanović Hovnik has a master's degree from the Ljubljana Faculty of Public Administration. She has served as a secretary of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) deputy group and worked at the Agency for Agricultural Markets and Rural Development.

She has also served as deputy director of the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy. Most recently she has been CEO of the company Smart Centre. She is the head of the Freedom Movement programme committee.

Appearing in parliament to present her vision, Ajanović Hovnik announced she would name a team to start talks with trade unions to reform the public sector pay system as soon as she gets appointed. The talks, which she expects to start this month, will be conducted in two-tier-way, to negotiate wages and the pay system.

She also identified as her priorities a reorganisation of administrative units to ensure greater flexibility of their services and changes to the administrative procedure act. The act would be reformed within two years to become a modern procedural rulebook to apply to both general and individual administrative decisions.

Irena Šinko, Freedom Movement, minister of agriculture, forestry and food

Šinko, who holds dual bachelor's degrees in zootechnics and law, has so far served as a senior adviser at the department for environment and spacial planning at the Murska Sobota administrative unit, a job she took after two stints as the director of the Farmland and Forest Fund between 2010 and 2018.

Before 2010, she was the head of the department for agriculture and economy at the Murska Sobota administrative unit.

She started her career as a technologist at the food company ABC Pomurka, and then went on to become an agriculture inspector at the inspection service of the Gornja Radgona, Lendava, Ljutomer and Murska Sobota municipalities, and a teacher of animal husbandry at the Rakičan secondary school for agriculture.

Šinko stressed the need for sustainable farming, environment protection and social sustainability in her presentation at the relevant parliamentary committee.

As minister she will strive to strengthen fair partnership among stakeholders, while paying special attention to producers. She announced measures to improve food self-sufficiency and adjusting to climate change.

Asta Vrečko, Left, culture minister

Born in Celje in 1984, Vrečko got a bachelor's degree in art history from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, where she also got her PhD in 2014 following a stint as early-stage researcher at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana. She is currently an assistant professor there.

She has also done extensive curatorial work, including at the Božidar Jakac Gallery, and has conducted research at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana focusing on Slovenian and Yugoslav 20th century art.

Vrečko has long been politically active, first as a member of the informal Workers' and Punks' University and then as a founding member of one of the precursors of the Left. She is a local councillor for the Left and vice-president of the party.

She has announced that her priorities as culture minister will be a development-oriented, modern and inclusive culture policy. She plans to overhaul media legislation and the status of the self-employed, and promote systemic investment in culture.

She also intends to review the decisions taken by her predecessor and restore dialogue with all stakeholders.

Emilija Stojmenova Duh, Freedom Movement, minister without portfolio for digital transformation

Stojmenova Duh was born in Macedonia in 1985 and emigrated to Slovenia as a 16-year-old. In 2009, she graduated in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Maribor, where she also earned her master's and PhD.

She is currently an associate professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, where she also heads the digital innovation hub 4PDIH, having previously founded the national network of innovation labs FabLab Slovenija and headed the Digital Innovation Hub between 2014 and 2016.

Long a gender equality activist, Stojmenova Duh rose to public prominence as a vocal advocate of students arrested during protests against school closures during Covid and for publicly clashing with the Janez Janša government over digital spending and appointments at the National Research Agency. She ran for parliament on the Social Democratic ticket but has since left the party.

In presenting her vision to the parliamentary Committee for Interior Affairs, Public Administration and Local Government, she said she would strive to promote education of the young, especially women, in technical fields.

One of her first steps will be an analysis of the situation in digital transformation and continuation of measures that have proven successful so far. Her priority will be to reduce the digital gap and form a basis for efficient digital transformation of the society.

After the law on the government is amended as planned, the Government Office for Digital Transformation is to be transformed into a ministry.

Aleksander Jevšek, Social Democrats, minister without portfolio for development and European cohesion policy

Jevšek, born in 1961, started his career in the police force, where he rose to the rank of director of the Criminal Police Department in 2007. After leaving the force, he was elected mayor of Murska Sobota in 2014 as a member of the Social Democrats (SD), the office from which he is coming to the new ministry.

Jevšek has said that as a great advocate of Slovenia's decentralisation, he would like his ministry to be headquartered in Maribor, a city much closer to Murska Sobota than Ljubljana. He would also support proposals to transfer some other ministries from the capital.

He announced a bill on balanced regional development and a new development strategy. Jevšek advocates decentralisation with the creation of provinces; redefinition of general development tasks at regional level; and creating new business opportunities for less developed and border areas.

He urged introducing two principles in regional development policy - subsidiarity and the state providing funds when imposing a new service on municipalities.

He is confident Slovenia will fully draw funds from the 2014-2020 EU budget until the deadline at the end of 2023.

Matej Arčon, Freedom Movement, minister without portfolio for Slovenians abroad

Arčon is a 49-year-old electrician who started his political career early, as president of the Nova Gorica students' club. He went on to become city councillor in Nova Gorica and deputy mayor before serving two terms as mayor starting in 2010.

Previously a prominent member of the now defunct Liberal Democrats (LDS), he became the secretary of the Freedom Movement on its founding as a close ally and confidante of Robert Golob.

He won more than 15,000 votes in two districts in the last general election, more than any other candidate by far.

He believes his coming from the border area, with Italy, helps him understand the challenges Slovenians abroad face.

He plans to strive for cross-border cooperation, cooperation of ethnic communities, the Slovenian language and digitalisation, as well as providing Slovenian minority associations abroad with adequate information and funding.

* The indication of party does not necessarily mean that the candidate is a member of the party, they just fill quota assigned to the coalition party under the coalition agreement.

STA, 24 May 2022 - The leaders of the Freedom Movement, Social Democrats and the Left signed the coalition agreement on Tuesday, exactly a month since the general election, with Prime Minister-designate Robert Golob commenting that the "speed that many envy us in forming the coalition proves the decision was simple because the people's will was clear". 

Golob said the election outcome made the decision who to form the coalition with simple. "Had people's will not been as clear, we couldn't have agreed so fast on the directions, projects and values that we will pursue together in the future government."

The signing comes just a day before the National Assembly will take a vote to confirm Golob as the prime minister. The three coalition parties have 53 seats in the 90-strong legislature with the Italian minority Felice Žiža announcing yesterday him and his Hungarian counterpart will also back Golob.

Golob's Freedom Movement won 41 seats in the 24 April general election, the highest number ever won by a party since independence. The SocDems won seven seats and the Left five.

Golob said the coalition agreement also provided for the new way in which his government would be organised, but which they cannot implement yet because the opposition Democrats (SDS) have submitted a motion for a referendum on the relevant amendments to the government act.

The increase in the number of ministers to 19 plus one without portfolio, from 14 plus three without portfolio is but seemingly increasing the government's complexity, he said.

The new ministries, responsible for solidarity-based future, climate and energy and higher education, science and innovation were aimed at creating new opportunities, projects and knowledge, which would set the new government apart from its predecessors.

Healthcare ranks prominently in the coalition agreement. There were many questions whether the coalition partners would reach a consensus on how to address key challenges with the Left advocating a clear division between public and private healthcare and the end of top-up insurance that is collected by private insurers, and the Freedom Movement arguing that private practitioners should be involved to reduce wait times.

However, Golob said it was measures in healthcare that they managed to agree on the most swiftly. The key priorities would be to set out an exit strategy for Covid-19 and an emergency bill that would reform healthcare. The bill is to be presented by Danijel Bešič Loredan, the candidate for health minister, at the hearing in parliament.

As other key priorities Golob identified coping with rising energy and food prices. In dealing with energy prices he said it would make sense taking measures aimed at all citizens, and in the case of food the measures would be selectively targeted.

Golob also listed public appearances and political culture as areas where the coalition wanted to introduce changes.

"I haven't said anything about the outgoing government and I won't because we're not here to use anyone as an excuse, but to put into practice what we've promised to the people. This change of political culture, which should be respectful but also determined and directed into the future, is also my personal pledge," he said.

Tanja Fajon, the SocDem leader, said theirs would be a government of change, something that voters had asked for. "Our joint goal is to ensure a strong economy, social security for all, an even regional development and Slovenia's position at Europe's core".

Fajon, who will take over as the foreign minister, referred to the coalition's plan to reposition Slovenia after the outgoing government sought alliances with countries such as Hungary and Poland.

Luka Mesec, the leader of the Left, said today's signing marked the end of a lost decade and a half, an era that saw Slovenia crawling from one crisis into another. "Bottom line is, the coalition agreement that we've signed is the line that separates us from the lost decade and a half and the hard work ahead of us," he said, pledging for the government to work for the future of all, not just a few.

Golob said the coalition would examine their agreement every six months in order to see whether the circumstances had changed so much that adjustments were needed.

He said the coalition partners had already agreed on their common goal before the election, which was where they wanted to take Slovenia by 2030. "We know where we are and where we want to get, the path is known and we'll then respond appropriately according to the circumstances."

Golob will focus on staffing the prime minister's office once he is endorsed as prime minister. He would like for the office to act horizontally, linking together the ministries that deal with the same topics.

STA, 18 May 2022 - Red pumps, red sandals and red trainers could be seen a lot in parliament today as female members of the future coalition parties decided to express solidarity with Speaker Urška Klakočar Zupančič, who became the target on insults on social media over her outfit at Friday's maiden session of parliament. 

Klakočar Zupančič wore a black mid-size dress, a black jacket and red pumps at Friday's parliamentary session at which she was elected speaker.

Prva ženska na tem položaju. Čestitke Urška Klakočar Zupančič za izvolitev za novo predsednico @Drzavnizborz Veselim se dobrega sodelovanja. pic.twitter.com/n4OuMjaMAi

— Tanja Fajon (@tfajon) May 13, 2022

But her choice of shoes triggered insulting, sexist and vulgar comments on social media, web portal N1 reported.

As a result, a kind of red shoe movement emerged among female users of social media, urging women to support Klakočar Zupančič by wearing red shoes.

MPs of the future coalition parties, especially the Freedom Movement, responded by appearing in all types of red footwear in parliament today.

"I'm glad that women have recognised red shoes as a symbol of resistance to extreme chauvinism," Klakočar Zupančič was quoted as saying by N1.

"It's time for women to stop being judged by their looks and outfit," said Deputy Speaker Meira Hot. "It's inadmissible in 2022 that a parliamentary speaker is a target of such insults," she added.

STA, 3 May 2022 - Robert Golob, the presumptive prime minister-designate, is expected to officially launch government formation talks on Tuesday with prospective coalition partners, the Social democrats and the Left. Golob has indicated he would like to form an operative government before summer.

Golob's Freedom Movement, which won 34.53% in the 24 April general election, which translates into 41 MP seats, would like to form a government as soon as possible, so it would become operative before the summer recess of parliament to be able to prepare for a potential new outbreak of Covid-19 and for the anticipated energy price hikes.

Informal talks between Golob and SD head Tanja Fajon and Luka Mesec from the Left started last week, immediately after the election, with the official talks slated to start today.

Fajon said after the election she would like the government formation talks to start as soon as possible, as Slovenia needed a stable and strong government.

Mesec, who got the party council's mandate for talks with the Freedom Movement, said he expected concrete steps towards a new government today.

It is expected that today's talks will result in an approximate distribution of ministries among coalition partners.

STA, 27 January 2022 - With public opinion polls being watched with increasing attention ahead of the April general election in Slovenia, pollsters say most voters make their final choice in the last month, even last week ahead of the election day where swing voters will have main say.

Talking with the STA, Andraž Zorko of Valicon and Nikola Damjanić of Ninamedia say the Slovenian electorate on the whole is as a rule tilted slightly left of centre and can generally be divided into three parts.

One part is engaged, decided voters, part are conscious citizens who turn out regularly at the polls but opt based on political developments each time, while a third group do not follow politics and as a rule do not vote.

It is hard to predict the proportion of swing voters but Matej Makarovič of Parsifal believes their share right now is sufficient for the outcome to remain open until election day.

There are two types of swing voters, swinging between parties and blocs. "The voters who see opposition to [PM] Janez Janša as the key reference point know exactly which bloc they will vote for, but they may be unsure about the concrete party in that bloc till the end."

The last week ahead of the election day will be the most decisive period. This is when polls typically give some general picture of what the result could realistically be.

The political arena is in a state of flux at the moment with new players making their entry such as Robert Golob and Speaker Igor Zorčič each with their own party and a new green party to be founded in February by two high-profile environmental activists.

Mediana's director Janja Božič Marolt says data and results of recent elections show new parties and faces appeal to voters, but it is hard to measure their mark in polls at the moment, in particular if the parties are not yet fully operational and it is not clear yet who their candidates will be.

"If polling attention is drawn to such parties this will be unintentionally at least partly suggestive and the parties' showing will be overrated. If they are not listed and respondents are let respond completely spontaneously, they won't even think of those parties, which will underestimate their result," says Makarovič.

In one such instance Zorko believes that the showings of the Connect Slovenia, an alliance of parties including Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek's Concretely and the party of former Maribor mayor Franc Kangler, and Our Land, founded by former Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec, are underrated.

The emerging green party Vesna may also spring a surprise in the election with Zorko drawing parallels to the situation in Austria and Germany where green parties are in government.

Asked what the biggest draw for the voters is, whether personalities, manifestos or vote buying policies, Božič Marolt says experience shows Slovenians tend to become more alert to policies advocated by parties in their platforms when election time draws closer.

Zorko finds headlines, images and populist public appearances rank prominently in the instant consumer society. It thus did not come as a surprise to him when new parties with high-profile figureheads did well in recent elections.

Damjanić says new faces are seen as hope for change although Makarovič notes that "every new face so far has managed to disappoint most of their supporters".

One important factor in this election will be alliances, in particularly given the large number of parties. Zorko sees the centre-right having a competitive advantage there with Connect Slovenia setting out early enough to build an alliance and individual parties in that movement not targeting the same group of voters.

The situation is quite different on the other side of the political spectrum where most parties are vying for the same voters.

He finds the KUL alliance of four centre-left parliamentary parties ill-fated being that it made its bid too early on, and that it comprises the same parties that formed the coalition in 2018 that failed to hold on to power until the end of the term. The centre-left bloc will thus need to consolidate to be able to be a match for the centre-right.

Damjanić sees potential in alliances as well, noting that the centre-left voters who used to vote for Liberal Democracy, Zares and Positive Slovenia are looking for something new.

He does not expect any drastic surprise in the election, but he does believe one interesting development to watch for will be the involvement of civil society movements that could draw younger voters to the polling stations. He says the turnout could be higher than in the 2018 election (52.64%).

STA, 1 January 2021 - Slovenia will spend much of 2022 in campaign mode as voters will head to the polls three times in what has been described as a super election year. A general election is scheduled in spring, in April at the earliest, followed by presidential and local elections in autumn.

Crowded field for general election

There has been a flurry of activity in the final months of 2021 as parties staked out their positions by adopting election manifestos. The centre field in particular is crowded as parties attempt to distance themselves from the more radical positions of the ruling Democrats (SDS) and Left on either end of the political spectrum to appeal to moderate voters.

Alliances are being built left and right, some as a counterweight to the long dominant SDS, others in order for parties to have a better shot at achieving 4% at the general election, the threshold to enter the National Assembly.

Four parliamentary centre-left opposition parties - LMŠ, SD, Left and SAB - signed a pact on post-election cooperation in September. They plan to contest the campaign individually, whereupon the best-performing party would nominate the prime minister-designate.

There have been mounting calls for the four to also forge a closer pre-election coalition, with some analysts arguing that this was the only way to defeat Prime Minister Janez Janša's SDS and potentially deflect challenges by up-and-coming alliances.

One such forthcoming alliance, called Connect Slovenia, features parties including Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek's Concretely and the party of former Maribor mayor Franc Kangler. They are in talks several smaller local lists to broaden their appeal.

Two green parties are also on the horizon, an attempt to capitalise on the increasing importance of green policies and finally bring green back into the mainstream, from which it has been absent for more than two decades. One was formed by Jure Leben, a former environment minister, the other was announced by two prominent green activists, Uroš Macerl and Urška Zgojznik.

Parliamentary Speaker Igor Zorčič, meanwhile, has announced he will form a liberal democratic party and has entered into talks with several prominent mayors. The party is expected to be formally established soon.

One major unknown for now is the trajectory of Robert Golob, the ousted CEO of energy trader Gen-I. Early polls show he currently enjoys significant support, but it remains unclear whether he will enter the election with a party or join an existing group. He has been coy so far, saying that he would get politically active through a broad movement.

Another party that early polls indicate might have a shot as well is Our Land, created by Aleksandra Pivec, a former agriculture minister who was swept away by an expenses scandal.

Presidential election wide open

The presidential election, to be held in autumn, will be wide open since Borut Pahor, the incumbent, is term limited and will not contest the election.

Parliamentary parties remain tight-lipped about potential candidates as they focus on the general election, and it remains unclear whether some parties will join forces or field their own candidates at least in the first round of voting.

The name most often mentioned by the media as a serious contender is Ljudmila Novak, the MEP for the Christian democratic New Slovenia (NSi), who has overtaken Pahor in popularity rankings this year. She has not made any announcements yet and it is not certain that she would even be considered by her own party given significant differences with the party's young leadership.

Local elections scheduled for 20 November

Local elections have a fixed date on the third Sunday of November but for all intents and purposes campaigning has already started as municipalities traditionally ramp up local investments in the final year before ballots are cast.

The local votes rarely reflect political realities at the national level as many candidates in Slovenia's 212 municipalities are elected from local lists without a firm party affiliation, or from smaller parties that are not represented in parliament. In the last election, the People's Party (SLS) ended with the largest number of mayors despite being absent from national politics since 2014.

One major factor affecting local ballots will be how many mayors decide to enter the general election. MPs are prohibited by law from serving as mayors and whoever is elected to parliament must give up their mayoral office.

National Council finishing its five-year term

Elections to the National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, are typically below the radar since councillors are elected indirectly by interest groups representing employers, trade unions, farmers, craftspersons, non-commercial activities and, most notably, local communities.

The National Council does not have the kind of powers that upper chambers have in true bicameral systems, but during its current term it has shown it can strongly affect politics nevertheless with its veto powers.

While it wielded the veto liberally during the term of the previous government, it was more accommodating to the current government in pre-emptively giving up veto powers when the National Assembly passed any of the ten Covid relief bills, so that the legislation could take effect immediately.

The reason its veto power has mattered more is that both the present and the previous government were minority governments in a hung parliament, making it very difficult to muster the absolute majority that is required in a re-vote.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 19 November 2021.

Mladina: Signs of optimism upon Janša's looming defeat

STA, 19 November 2021 - Mladina says in its latest editorial that with the announcement of the election date, a countdown has started in Slovenia and in the EU as well, an "increasingly optimistic countdown to the end of a painful period of authoritarian rule".

Under the headline 155, Mladina says that the majority of politically active people are counting down the 155 days left until the election, and compares Slovenia's situation to the final period of President Trump's rule in the US.

Turning to Prime Minister Janez Janša, the commentary suggests that his recent behaviour reflects "a man whose plans have all fallen through and who has experienced rejection everywhere".

"Janša is defeated, and he knows it. We have never seen anything like this in the history of the rotating EU presidency: other EU leaders and representatives making it so clear to the PM of the country holding the presidency that they despise him."

"But his defeat at home is even greater. He has failed to break the media and the judiciary, he has failed to establish a cult of personality, he has failed to overturn the mood of a society so clearly opposed to the Slovenia he would like to create."

"Janša is now counting only on the government's alleged economic success, that is the only thing he talks about in an attempt to cover up the completely misguided fight against the epidemic, which is taking on frightening proportions."

Mladina adds that despite all the government's interference in various state institutions, certain forms of optimism, strength and rebellion are spreading through Slovenia's society, a certain "mockery at the autocratic ruler and his followers".

"As we are in the midst of an epidemic, it is hard to laugh - but the sentiment is there. Laughter is a sign of freedom, and the beginning of laughter signals the end of fear," concludes the commentary.

Demokracija: Fight against heirs of Communism

STA, 18 November 2021 - Demokracija magazine argues in Thursday's commentary that it is time to fight against the heirs of Communist ideology, which it says stages "media pogroms and show trials" whenever a government is not led by "red monsters disguised as social or liberal democrats".

These people perceive themselves as democratic advocates of liberty, and yet they designate everyone who disagrees with them as authoritarian enemies of democracy. "In their mental processes, shaped through decades, the (bourgeois) right is bent on racism and fascism, whereas the middle class, the pillar of the free market system and the engine of development, remains their biggest enemy."

According to the commentator, the time has come to determine whose country Slovenia is. "Do the 'proud heirs of the League of Communists' really have the exclusive right to bypass all the rules ... and terrorise others in the streets? Who will stop these guerrilla actions by leftists, concealed behind nice-sounding names of NGOs?"

History shows that red revolutions have always been deadly for good, God fearing people, that they have only brought devastation and sadness, Demokracija says.

"Nowadays a coordinated and systemic attack is carried out differently than it was a hundred years ago, but the consequences are the same. Our future demands that we fight, and that we remember the legendary times of this generations for actually liberating [the country], not only making it independent."

All our posts in this series are here