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Govt points to ex regime in response to CoE criticism of pressure on media in Slovenia
SDS under fire following dispatch about communist origins of Slovenian media
MEPs defend freedom of press, disagree over communist media dispatch
Govt points to ex regime in response to CoE criticism of pressure on media in Slovenia
STA, 8 April 2020 - Responding to criticism coming from the Council of Europe (CoE) over pressure on the media in Slovenia, the government has argued the situation is a result of Slovenian media having "their origin in the former communist regime".
While the CoE has been highlighting pressure on media occurring under the new government and named the state as the "source of the threat", the government wrote that it welcomes that the CoE Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is taking a stronger interest in the media situation in Slovenia.
It added that the CoE's attention should be drawn to the broader context of the media situation in the country, including historical facts in the development of the media market.
"The majority of the main media in Slovenia have their origins in the former communist regime, and even in the late 1990s the positions of editors-in-chief were held by the former members of the infamous security service UDBA," says the letter accessible on the website of the CoE Platform.
Sent to the CoE by Slovenia's Permanent Representation to the CoE on Tuesday, the letter also says that up until 2004 the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija had been run directly by "former communist structures".
The letter says that "more or less all attempts to create new media that would not be based on the legacy of of the totalitarian past have failed" because new media had not received money from advertising. One of the few media that survived was Catholic Radio Ognjišče, surviving above all because listeners supported it with their contributions.
The situation changed partly only in the period between 2004 and 2008, "when for the first time the parties originating in the former regime lost the authority for four years", the letter says of the period when Janez Janša was prime minister for the first time.
"During this period, the law governing the operations of RTV Slovenija also changed with a view to promoting greater plurality of the media space. As a result, in some media that in one way or another are financed by all citizens, individuals who were not connected with the former totalitarian party also took on leading roles."
However, already in 2008, when the Borut Pahor government took over, there was "tremendous persecution of all editors and journalists who were not part of the former regime's network," the letter says, referring to editor dismissals at the STA and RTV Slovenija, and saying that similar actions had been taken in some private media.
The letter also says that media in Slovenia had during this time undergone ownership consolidation. "With the consent of left governments, the majority of the main media have been sold to individuals who are known to the general as Slovenian tycoons, many were also members of Forum 21," an outfit established by former President Milan Kučan.
"Journalists themselves also contributed to their increasingly poorer public image. Jumps from journalism to politics are, unfortunately, too common for the public to fully trust the integrity of journalists," the letter says, naming here MEPs Tanja Fajon and Irena Joveva.
"There are not isolated cases of political rewards for journalists who appeared in public as the greatest fighters among journalists against parties that did not arise from the network of the former regime," the letter says, naming Rok Praprotnik and Dejan Karba.
The government expresses satisfaction in the letter that Slovenia had finally become the subject of international interest in terms of freedom of the press and the general state of the media in the country, saying that "warnings of the unbearable situation of the Slovenian national broadcaster should also be taken seriously".
It says that initiatives for a more rational spending of public funds are being misinterpreted. "While many media companies are struggling to survive... RTV Slovenija has hired an additional 400 people in the last 10 years alone, bringing the total number of the institution's employees to approximately 2,300."
The letter was sent to the CoE, after the latter issued an alert in response to Janša's tweet on 20 March. Janša tweeted "Don't spread lies, @InfoTVSLO. We pay you to keep us informed in these times, not to mislead the public. Apparently there are too many of you and you are paid to well."
Janša tweeted this after TV Slovenija aired an interview with a trade unionist who criticised the government's decision to raise the salaries of ministers and state secretaries.
Janša's tweet was criticised also by the Journalists' Association (DNS), the Journalists' Trade Union and the leadership of RTV Slovenija. The union and the DNS interpreted the tweet as a threat to RTV Slovenija employees about possible loss of employment or other repressive measures that may befall them unless they report in a way that suits the government.
This was the second alert by the CoE Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists issued to Slovenia in the past two weeks. On 27 March, the Platform said that investigative journalist Blaž Zgaga had received death threats from far right groups.
In response to that alert, the government said it "strongly rejects and condemns the case of alleged harassment... At the moment, we have no conclusive evidence as to how this event came about."
Zgaga was also mentioned in the letter sent to the CoE on 7 April, which said that his credibility was destroyed when claims of Janša's involvement in the Patria defence scandal were proven false.
SDS under fire following dispatch about communist origins of Slovenian media
STA, 9 April 2020 - The senior coalition Democratic Party (SDS) has been criticised, not only by journalists and the opposition, but also by its coalition partners, after an official government dispatch to the Council of Europe's Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists claimed that all the main media stemmed from the communist regime.
The dispatch was a response to an alert issued by the Platform after Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted in late March that the public broadcaster RTV Slovenia was misleading the public, adding "apparently there are too many of you and you are paid too well".
The Journalists' Association (DNS) said that the dispatch was far from reality of Slovenia's media market, that the writing reflected the ideological position of the the SDS and was undermining Slovenia's reputation abroad.
For 30 years, Slovenia has been a democracy with a media market, which has seen various anomalies, but is nonetheless operating in a relatively normal framework, the DNS said on Thursday.
Editorial policies, as well as ownership, vary from one media outlet to the next, so to claim that all are guided by an ideological war against the SDS is "peek paranoia", which has been evident in the existing attitude of the SDS and the incumbent government toward the media and journalists, the DNS said.
The association underlined that Slovenian journalists are performing their job in line with professional and ethical standards, and on par with their colleagues in other western democracies.
"In fact, the only instances of aberration are seen in media directly or indirectly linked to the SDS, which have received substantial funding from Hungarian companies. These have been conducting degrading campaigns against anybody who does not agree with SDS politics, they have manipulated facts and spread intolerance toward anybody who is different or thinks differently," the DNS said.
It added that the government failed to understand that freedom of the press is guaranteed by law in Slovenia, that public media are not state media and that the state, albeit the founder of public media, does not have the right to play editor.
Meanwhile, the director of RTV Slovenija Igor Kadunc repeated his reaction to the initial tweet in a statement for Radio Slovenija that RTV Slovenia was operating economically.
Bojan Veselinovič, the director of the STA, also a public media outlet, meanwhile denied allegations levelled against him in the dispatch, which explicitly mentions Veselinovič firing editor-in-chief Borut Meško, who later died due to severe illness.
Coalition partners Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) have distanced themselves from the letter, all of them saying that they had not been informed about the contents of the dispatch. The parties also said that they would demand to learn who authored the dispatch, sent to the CoE on 7 April.
The SMC said in its response to the STA that it only learnt about the letter from the media and that its position was clear: "any attack and pressure on the media is unacceptable."
The NSi as well said it had not been informed about the dispatch and would demand explanations "within the coalition", including about who wrote the dispatch. Similar sentiment was echoed also by DeSUS.
The opposition was also critical, with the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), the Social Democrats (SD), the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and the Left calling for an emergency session of the parliamentary culture and foreign affairs committees to demand explanations from Foreign Minister Anže Logar.
The opposition parties believe the dispatch amounts to abuse of power for political purposes and an action that undermines the country's international renown.
The Left called on Logar to resign, while LMŠ MP Nik Prebil said in a statement that no government minister, least of all the foreign minister, must allow that such documents "bear a personal or party connotation".
Meanwhile, Matjaž Nemec, an MP for the SD and the chair of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said he expected Logar to explain to the committee why the dispatch could be interpreted as reinforcement of a political agenda through diplomatic networks.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry denied having drafted the dispatch. Instead, government Communications Office (UKOM) head Uroš Urbanija, told the newspaper Delo that his office had written the letter and that neither Logar nor Janša were aware of its contents.
Urbanija, a former home desk editor at the STA, former editor at RTV Slovenija, as well as Nova24TV, told the paper that the letter had been sent in a clear procedure of UKOM receiving a question from the press and responding to it without any special notification to government officials.
The ministry, while denying having written the letter, said it forwarded the explanation to the CoE in line with established diplomatic practice.
MEPs defend freedom of press, disagree over communist media dispatch
STA, 9 April 2020 - Slovenian MEPs have expressed support for freedom of the press after an official dispatch was sent to the Council of Europe (CoE) saying that all the main Slovenian media had their origins in the Communist regime. But while MEPs from right-leaning parties expressed support for the dispatch, others labelled the writing as politically motivated.
Sent to the CoE's Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists on 7 April, the dispatch was a response to an alert issued by the Platform after Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted in late March that the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija was misleading the public, adding "apparently there are too many of you and you are paid too well".
MEPs Milan Zver and Romana Tomc, both members of the senior coalition Democratic Party (SDS) and the European People's Party (EPP) group, expressed belief that Slovenian media had not yet reached EU standards.
"Slovenian media space has been occupied above all by monochrome dominant media outlets which have been in the hands of the old (neo)Communist nomenclature since the beginning," Zver said in a statement for the STA.
"Unfortunately, political pluralism was not followed by media pluralism, one of the pillars of modern democracies," he added.
The dispatch "describes the actual state of affairs of so-called independent journalism and the so-called independent media in Slovenia," Tomc said, adding that the media space in Slovenia is completely "unbalanced".
"Therefore it would be very beneficial if relevant international institutions started more comprehensively dealing with this problem, to which we have been drawing attention for a long time," Tomc added.
Franc Bogovič of the People's Party (SLS), also a member of the EPP, said he wanted to see substantial discussions about social responsibility of the media, as well as plurality and autonomy of Slovenian media.
"Political ideas and individuals on the centre-left political spectrum get a lot more room" in the media, he said, adding that the three biggest daily newspapers are owned by persons from a certain "economic-political-media circle" which is trying to interfere with the state.
Ljudmila Novak of the New Slovenia (NSi), also a member of the EPP group, said that constructive criticism can only be of help to the authorities. She believes that Communist heritage and the influence of left-leaning political parties can still be felt in some media outlets.
"Some political parties, their leadership and membership originate in the former Communist regime. Therefore this can be felt also in some media. Unfortunately, the media under the patronage of some political parties or in their ownership are the least democratic of all."
Meanwhile, MEPs from the ranks of the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Klemen Grošelj and Irena Joveva, a former journalist for the STA and commercial broadcaster POP TV, said that the dispatch amounted to politically-motivated abuse of state institutions to promote party agenda.
Social Democrat (SD) MEPs Milan Brglez and Tanja Fajon, were also critical. Fajon, also a former journalist who worked for TV Slovenija, said the dispatch was politically-motivated and disgraceful.
She said the dispatch failed to mention contentious funding from Hungary of media close to the SDS, as well as threats by Janša and his supporters to individual journalists.
Brglez meanwhile regretted that Foreign Minister Anže Logar put the interests of his party before the interests of the state. The Foreign Ministry meanwhile denied having drafted the dispatch, while the head of the government Communication Office Uroš Urbanija said the dispatch had been written by his office and that to his knowledge neither Logar nor Janša had been aware of its contents.
STA, 6 April 2020 - The government-sponsored amendments that would set down the National Assembly's course of action in case of a referendum initiative challenging a law that cannot be challenged under the constitution is likely to garner the needed two-thirds majority in parliament to pass, judging by parties' indications.
The Public Administration Ministry told the STA on Monday that the coalition had pledged its full support for the amendments to the referendum law, while the only opposition faction to voice its vocal dissent was the Left.
Speaking to the STA, the head of the Left's deputy faction, Matej T. Vatovec confirmed their opposition but said that they were yet to decide whether they would vote against the proposal or abstain.
Noting that the same solutions had been under discussion in the previous term, Vatovec said the Left was against restrictions to the referendum initiative in principle. The party has also voted against the constitutional amendment that sets forth when a referendum cannot be called.
The constitutional amendments passed in 2013 ban referendums on laws deemed vital for the country's defence and security or tackling the consequences of natural disasters, along with laws dealing with taxes, budget implementation, ratification of international treaties, and laws correcting existing unconstitutional provisions.
Vatovec believes the motive behind the latest change to the referendum law is the government's desire to enforce laws as fast as possible, which he finds contentious because it means all laws could presume retroactivity and because he believes referendum is not a mechanism whereby constitutionality or technical issues are established, but rather an expression of people's disagreement with a political course taken.
Information available to the STA indicates that the opposition Social Democrats (SD) have no major misgivings about the government proposal, whereas the former prime minister's Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) has some, so it plans to table amendments and then decide on how to vote depending on the discussion and amendments passed.
The deputy groups of the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and National Party (SNS) told the STA the government could count on their support, with SNS leader Zmago Jelinčič adding that he hoped the new provisions would not be abused.
Under the new amendments, the laws that cannot be challenged in a referendum could be promulgated as soon as the upper chamber's potential reservations ceased.
Under exiting law, the speaker of the lower chamber sends laws to the head of state to promulgate them on the eighth day after adoption, except when a referendum initiative or a veto by the upper chamber has been submitted in the meantime.
President Borut Pahor, who promulgates laws, expressed support for the amendments, saying that they would allow greater efficiency in a democratic way and within the "framework of the constitution and law".
"The proposal is strong proof that both the executive and legislative branches want to act in line with the constitution in these extraordinary circumstances. This is also my wish as president," he added.
Noting that a two-thirds majority in parliament was needed, Pahor said that it was "right that a broad discussion is held, that possible reservations are expressed, but that the amendments are eventually passed".
The president assessed the safeguards as sufficient, as "the right to referendum is not being taken away, but the implementation of a low is only being sped up", adding that only measures which were really necessary should be adopted this way.
The amendments to the referendum law would cut short procedures to enact measures to fight the coronavirus epidemic and mitigate its consequences.
The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, has already expressed its plan to actively avoid vetoing emergency laws in order to accelerate their implementation, and has already demonstrated its commitment by waiving its right to veto the EUR 3 billion stimulus package.
The government has proposed for the referendum reform bill to be passed by emergency procedure, which the college of deputy groups endorsed today.
The bill will be first read by the parliamentary Interior Affairs and Local Government Committee on Tuesday morning and then at the plenary in the afternoon.
STA, 7 March 2020 - Below are short biographical notes on candidates for ministers in the Janez Janša government. Most have previous experience in government or have served in senior parliamentary roles, just a handful are new to national politics.
Anže Logar - candidate for foreign minister
Born in 1976, Logar earned a PhD degree at the School of Advanced Social Studies in 2016. He worked in the European Parliament as an adviser to the European People's Party (EPP) and headed the Government Communication Office (UKOM) in both governments of Janez Janša. During Slovenia's EU presidency in the first half of 2008, he was the official spokesperson of the presidency. First elected an MP in 2014, in his second term he currently chairs the parliamentary Public Finance Oversight Commission. He unsuccessfully ran for the mayor of Ljubljana in 2018.
Matej Tonin - candidate for minister of defence
Tonin, a 36-year-old with a degree in political sciences from the University of Ljubljana, has been in politics since joining New Slovenia (NSi) in 2001. Between 2007 and 2008, he was employed in the National Assembly as a public relations advisor, after which he established his own company. At the end of 2010, he was elected a vice-president of the NSi, and in 2011 as an MP on the party's slate. He was elected for his second MP term in 2014, heading the NSi deputy group during both terms. In 2018, he succeeded Ljudmila Novak as the NSi president following Novak's resignation. In the same year, he was re-elected MP and served as the parliamentary speaker for two months, until the appointment of the minority government of Marjan Šarec. He is the chair of the parliamentary Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services.
Aleš Hojs - candidate for interior minister
The 58-year-old construction engineer started his political career in the Slovenian Christian Democrats (SKD), and after the party merged with the People's Party (SLS) he joined New Slovenia (NSi). In the 2011 parliamentary elections, he was an MP candidate for the party, and in 2012 he took over the defence department in the second government of Janez Janša. He was expelled from the NSi in 2016, and then unsuccessfully ran in the 2018 parliamentary elections on the list of the Democrats (SDS). He chairs the defence committee of the SDS expert council, presides the Association for the Values of Slovenian Independence and is the director of Nova24TV, a broadcaster co-owned by the SDS.
Andrej Šircelj - candidate for finance minister
Šircelj is a seasoned MP for the Democrats (SDS) who started out as a teacher at the Ljubljana Secondary School of Economics to later also work as a tax and business consultant. He is already familiar with the Finance Ministry, having worked there as a state secretary in the second half of the 2004-2008 Janez Janša government. The 61-year-old has been elected to parliament three times - in 2011, 2014 and for the current term in 2018 - and has mostly been known for his work on the parliamentary public finance oversight and finance committees. In this term has also served as the deputy chair of the Foreign Policy Committee.
Zdravko Počivalšek - candidate for economic development and technology minister
If appointed, Počivalšek would be heading the same department in three consecutive governments. After having spent three decades in senior management, half of which as the boss of the spa operator Terme Olimia, the 62-year-old agronomy engineer entered politics in 2014, when he joined the government of Miro Cerar. He kept the post in the government of Marjan Šarec, and last autumn he also took over the presidency of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) from Cerar. As minister, Počivalšek he has focused on the development and consolidation of the tourism sector, support for domestic and foreign direct investments, and the fate of the retailer Mercator after the demise of its Croatian owner Agrokor.
Tomaž Gantar - candidate for health minister
The 60-year-old urologist is slated to become health minister for a second time. He already held the post in the second Janez Janša government and in the Alenka Bratušek government between February 2012 and November 2014 as a member of the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). He resigned as the coalition at the time was not able to push through a healthcare reform. In the next term as an MP, he chaired the parliamentary Health Committee. He was also active locally, as the mayor of the coastal municipality of Piran between 2006 and 2010, while he surprisingly lost the local election in 2018. He was the director of the Izola hospital between 2000 and 2004.
Andrej Vizjak - candidate for environment and spatial planning minister
Vizjak is a long-standing member of the Democrats (SDS) who served as minister under both Janez Janša governments. He was the economy minister from 2004 to 2008, and labour, family and social affairs minister in the 2012-2013 cabinet. The 55-year-old holds a masters in electrical engineering and worked at heavy machinery manufacturer Litostroj and as a young researcher at the Jožef Stefan Institute. In 1994 he started working at the Krško Labour Inspectorate before being appointed a state secretary at the Labour, Family and Social Affairs Ministry in 2000. While also being the mayor of Brežice from 2002 to 2004, he served two terms as MP, including as the head of the SDS deputy group. After failing to get elected to parliament in 2014, he was put in charge of development and investment at hydroelectric power plant operator HESS, part of state-owned Gen Energija.
Jernej Vrtovec - candidate for infrastructure minister
Vrtovec, born in 1985, is a young but experienced politician who established a municipal committee of New Slovenia (NSi) while still in secondary school. Vrtovec, who graduated at the Ljubljana Faculty of Theology, became the president of the NSi's youth wing in 2009 and also served as the party's public relations officer. He was first elected to parliament in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. Since the beginning of 2019 he has been chairing a parliamentary inquiry into suspected abuse of office at the bad bank.
Janez Cigler Kralj - candidate for minister of labour, the family, social affairs and equal opportunities
Cigler Kralj, 41, has a degree in political sciences and served as the New Slovenia (NSi) deputy group's public relations officer between 2006 and 2008, when he left to work for Infonet Media, a network of radio stations, for two years, followed by a two-year stint at the Public Fund for Human Resources Development and Scholarships. In 2012 he returned to the National Assembly as a staffer for the deputy group.
Lilijana Kozlović - candidate for justice minister
Kozlović, born in 1962 holds an MA in law and headed the Koper Administrative Unit for nine years before entering politics in 2014, when she was elected MP for the Modern Centre Party (SMC), of which she was also a deputy president. In 2016 she became secretary general of the Miro Cerar government and was deeply involved in the border arbitration procedure with Croatia. Just before the end of the government's term she was named director of the Slovenian Environment Agency against the backdrop of severe criticism from the right, a post she still holds.
Simona Kustec - candidate for minister of education, science and sporty
Kustec, born in 1976, holds a PhD in political sciences and is a tenured professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana. She joined the Modern Centre Party (SMC) in 2014 and became its vice-president. After she was elected MP, she went on to become the deputy group leader. After the end of the term she left politics and returned to academia.
Aleksandra Pivec - candidate for minister of agriculture, forestry and food
Pivec, a 47-year-old who holds a PhD in chemical engineering, led the department during the Marjan Šarec government, after serving as a state secretary at the Office for Slovenians Abroad. She previously worked as early stage researcher at the Ljubljana Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology and on the research team at the Bistra Ptuj Science and Research Centre. When taking over in September 2018, Pivec set access to safe food, measures to adapt to climate change and preparations for the EU's next financial perspective as her main priorities. Her work in the previous government was overshadowed by suspicions of wrongdoing in an EU-funded tourism project, which did not hurt her, however, as she defeated the long-serving Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) president Karl Erjavec at the January congress to become the new DeSUS leader.
Boštjan Koritnik - candidate for minister of public administration
Koritnik, 40, is an a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, secretary general of the Association of Slovenian Jurists and editor of the law journals Pravna Praksa and Javna Uprava. He started out as a journalist for GV Založba, a publisher specialising in law and business, where he went on to become editor and legal counsel before he was appointed director and editor-in-chief in 2010. After the company was merged with legal information provider IUS Software, he was co-director until 2015.
Vasko Simoniti - candidate for culture minister
Vasko Simoniti, 69, spent most of his career at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, where he earned his PhD in history and where he was professor of modern history until his retirement. He entered politics in 2000 along with several prominent conservative writers and was among the founders of the Assembly for the Republic, a conservative think-tank. He served as culture minister in the first Janez Janša government in 2004-2008 and remains the head of the Democrats' (SDS) culture committee.
Zvonko Černač - candidate for development and European cohesion policy minister
Černač is coming to the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy from the National Assembly, having served as an MP of the Democrats (SDS), with some interruptions, since 2004. In the meantime, he served in 2012 as minister of infrastructure and spatial planning in the second government (2012-2013) of Janez Janša. After the Civic List (DL) left the then coalition, he was also in charge of the justice and public administration department for a while. The 57-year-old graduate of the Ljubljana Faculty of Law previously worked in the ZSSS trade union confederation, the municipality of Postojna, the operator of the Postojna Cave, the Kobilarna Lipica stud farm, and the Postojna municipal housing fund.
Helena Jaklitsch - candidate for minister for Slovenians abroad
A historian and author born in 1977, Jaklitsch has a PhD in history from the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts. She worked at the Justice Ministry between 2005 and 2014 and was in charge of logistics preparations for Slovenia's EU presidency in 2008. Since 2014 she has worked at the Culture Ministry, first at the department for Slovenian language and most recently at the directorate for creativity.
All our stories on Slovenia’s new government can be found here
STA, 26 February 2020 - President Borut Pahor on Wednesday formally nominated Janez Janša, the leader of the Democrats (SDS), for prime minister after four parties reached an agreement forming a centre-right coalition.
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Having joined forces with the Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) Janša can count on a slim but comfortable majority in the 90-member parliament, which has to vote on the nomination in seven days at the latest.
Janša said the coalition agreement showed the four parties were willing to seek compromise solutions and would work to tackle the most pressing issues that Slovenia faces, even as he acknowledged that it was impossible to achieve everything that had to be done in the two and a half years until the next scheduled election.
He highlighted tackling healthcare, environmental issues and the elderly situation as top priorities. The coalition agreement envisages establishing a government demographic fund to deal with the issue of population ageing.
Moreover, decentralisation and debureaucratisation are expected to be among the potential coalition's main targets.
Janša believes that it goes without saying the parties will also implement any Constitutional Court ruling, including the decision mandating equal funding of private and public primary schools, even if the latter is not written down in the agreement.
He added that he would seek cooperation with the opposition and national minority MPs as well. The coalition plans to sign an agreement outlining national minority issues with the latter.
The likely new prime minister said that the coalition did not initially plan any changes to the government act due to shortage of time. He did say though that amending the budget would be necessary.
Pahor said he was glad the period of political uncertainty following the resignation of Marjan Šarec as prime minister in late January had been so short.
He called on political stakeholders to engage in dialogue and refrain from excluding anyone, while pledging to work together with the government in his capacity as president. "I want this cooperation to be constructive and for the benefit of our country and all the people."
The president expects every one to refrain from any offensive statements or actions and to strengthen trust in the constitutional system.
Asked about alleged intimidation tactics used during coalition formation, Janša said that threats meant the line had been crossed. He deems this kind of pressure illegitimate.
Pahor meanwhile added that public figures were faced with pressure on a regular basis and as long as such pressure was expressed in an appropriate way, that was acceptable. However, he warned against spreading hatred.
Prompted by the press, Janša also touched upon his media relations and Twitter communication, saying "what do you think influences public opinion more? A public accusation in a media outlet watched by 400,000 people or a tweet read by a few thousands? When this is measured in the same way, then we could have a serious discussion about that".
Profile: Janez Janša – Constant Player and Bête Noire of the Left
STA, 25 February 2020 - Providing a key seal of approval for a new centre-right government in Slovenia, the executive councils of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi), the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), and the Democrats (SDS) all backed on Tuesday the entry into a coalition led by SDS president Janez Janša.
Profile: Janez Janša – Constant Player and Bête Noire of the Left
The nods came after weeks of talks held following the 27 January resignation of PM Marjan Šarec, who had formed a minority centre-left government in September 2018.
The draft coalition agreement was initialled by the four parties on Monday, while consultation talks were held today with President Borut Pahor, who is likely to nominate Janša for his third stint as prime minister on Wednesday.
The parties, which have 48 votes in the 90-member National Assembly, have already divided the ministerial posts among them.
Several media reported that SMC head Zdravko Počivalšek would stay economy minister and DeSUS leader Aleksandra Pivec would remain in charge of the Agriculture Ministry, while NSi head Matej Tonin would become defence minister.
Other names circulated include the SDS's Anže Logar as foreign minister, the SDS's Zvonko Černač as interior minister, the SDS's Andrej Šircelj as finance minister, DeSUS's Tomaž Gantar as health minister, the SMC's Igor Zorčič as justice minister, the NSi's Cveto Uršič as labour, family and social affairs minister, and the NSi's Jernej Vrtovec as infrastructure minister. The SDS will allegedly also head the culture ministry.
Tonin indicated after the NSi's executive council session that the party had expected a little more from the coalition agreement, in particular bolder steps in healthcare.
56 of the NSi's 88 executive council members cast their vote today, all voting in favour.
Tonin confirmed the NSi had gotten the three departments mentioned by the media and that he would be put forward for defence minister. The candidates for the two remaining NSi cabinet posts are on the other hand still being discussed.
The second party to reveal its decision was the SMC, where Jani Möderndorfer, one of the SMC 10 MPs, was the only to vote against.
RTV Slovenija reported that some of the SMC's MPs allegedly received an offer from Marjan Šarec's LMŠ to vote against today and instead join the LMŠ to get favourable treatment on the party's slates in the next general elections.
SMC head Počivalšek told the press after the vote that "Slovenia needs an operational and mature government, capable of facing the challenges ahead".
"It is important to say that this will not be a coalition of one party... of one [party] president, this will be a coalition of four parties operating in consensus.
"This will also be a government for which 47% of voters voted in the last election and I am confident that such a government will work for the good of all of us," said Počivalšek.
Pivec of DeSUS revealed her party's decision shortly after, saying DeSUS was content with what it secured in the coalition negotiations.
Along with the agriculture and health minister, DeSUS is also expected to head the planned government demographic office. The vote on the executive council was 12:1 and on the council 45:5.
Addressing the press on behalf of the SDS was the party's MP Anže Logar, who explained that 219 of 219 SDS executive council members had voted in favour today.
He hopes the decisions adopted today will also be reflected in the parliamentary votes on the PM nominee and the ministerial team, which he hopes will proceed promptly.
Keep up with Slovenian politics here
STA, 17 February 2020- The secretary general of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) Jernej Pavlič rejected on Monday speculation that SAB was considering joining a potential centre-right government. "Talks on entering a Janez Janša government never took place and we'll never engage in them," he said, adding SAB's deputy group stood united in this respect.
Pavlič explained that SAB had only exchanged two emails with the head of the Democrats (SDS), informing him they could not attend the first round of talks hosted by him because of meetings scheduled for the party's bodies on the same day.
Pavlič said Janša replied by saying that SAB obviously lacked interest and was excluding itself from the talks for the time being. "He was correct in establishing this," he said.
Pavlič added that SAB, a centre-left party with 5 MPs which was part of the recently disbanded coalition, would not abandon its priorities, which include pensioners, public education and public healthcare.
"The priories are not in line with the coalition emerging under Janša. We don't intend to give up on our priorities merely to keep our seats or any other posts," Pavlič said.
As for the speculation that some of SAB's MPs may join Janša after all, he acknowledged some statements had been made or interpreted the wrong way, but added it had been clarified now that SAB will remain an opposition party in case of a Janša government and support good proposals.
SAB on the other hand still has not given up on its initiative for a new "project-based government" that would focus on key projects until a new election is called under a revised electoral law.
Talks have already been held with the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), New Slovenia (NSi) and the SocDems and a meeting is also scheduled with the Modern Centre Party (SMC), Pavlič explained.
Scholars protest Janša
Meanwhile, a group of left-leaning scholars warned today against a potential Janša-led government, writing in a letter that this could quickly lead Slovenia into the circle of EU members listed as violators of democratic principles, the rule of law, of media independence and human rights.
Led by sociologist Rudi Rizman, the 74 scholars, among them eight former university rectors, say the SDS was unacceptable because its authoritarian and nationalist populist traits presented a great danger for democratic culture and political processes in the country.
It is also unacceptable in terms of economic and social affairs, the SDS being bent on ruthless privatisation of companies, of public education and healthcare, the petition says, while also noting the SDS is a denier of human influence on climate change.
It is moreover "completely unacceptable because it is funding its propaganda illegally from foreign sources that are closely connected to the authoritarian government of the neighbouring country, which means a serious peril to our sovereignty and financial independence".
The petition comes after a group that included Žiga Turk, the reform minister in Janša's second government, former MEP from the ranks of the SDS Romana Jordan, economists Igor Masten and Sašo Polanec, and banker Marko Voljč called last week for the formation of an inclusive and operational coalition.
They addressed a letter to all parliamentary parties bar the Left and the National Party (SNS), expressing the belief that a snap election would not change the balance of powers. It would only widen Slovenia's development gap and slow down preparations for the EU presidency in 2021.
STA, 12 February 2020 - Two weeks after the resignation of PM Marjan Šarec, the Modern Centre Party (SMC) indicated on Wednesday that a snap election-entailing alliance proposed by Šarec's party looked increasingly unlikely, while coalition talks with the Democrats (SDS) were going as expected.
SMC deputy group head Igor Zorčič told the press that the details of the deal the SMC had been offered by the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), which wants to see a snap election called, were unacceptable.
Allegedly, the LMŠ offered the SMC a joint candidate list, proposing that a third of the candidates come from the SMC. This, however, is too little for the SMC, which wants a half of the candidates from its ranks.
Zorčič was moreover critical of Šarec commenting on the talks between LMŠ and SMC. "On the one hand, party heads authorised deputy group leaders to lead the talks, and on the other Šarec keeps on commenting for the media."
As for the ongoing talks with the SDS, which is also discussing coalition cooperation with New Slovenia (NSi) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), Zorčič said that some of SMC's ten MPs found some "forms of coalition" more acceptable than others.
Nonetheless, the deputy group is united in its position to continue talking with the SDS, the biggest party in parliament that spent the past year in opposition after failing to put together a coalition.
When asked how many SMC MPs SDS head Janez Janša could count on, Zorčič said that he would be informed in time, adding that the "yield" of the talks would play a decisive role in this.
He believes that the distribution of ministries among potential partners is "a very important element that will affect the support for the coalition".
"Some ministries have a more state-building character, other less so. This means that ideological issues can be more exposed in some ministries and less in others."
Zorčič also indicated that the staffing questions do not concern only the distribution of ministries, but also the name of the potential next prime minister.
He did not provide any more detailed comments about the wishes of the parties involved in talks, but said that the talks were going according to expectations.
Today, a group of people including Žiga Turk, the reform minister in Janša's second government, former MEP from the ranks of the SDS Romana Jordan, economists Igor Masten and Sašo Polanec, and banker Marko Voljč called for the formation of an inclusive and operational coalition.
They addressed a letter to all parliamentary parties bar the Left and the National Party (SNS), expressing belief that a snap election would change the balance of powers. It would only widen Slovenia's development gap and slow down preparations for the EU presidency in 2021.
Janša welcomed the letter, noting that the SDS had invited all parliamentary parties to take part in coalition-building talks. Speaker Dejan Židan, whose SocDems refuse to negotiate with the SDS, meanwhile responded that the best way to such a coalition was through a snap election, the newspaper Večer said.
STA, 11 February 2020 - The opposition Democrats (SDS) are expected to conduct a fresh round of coalition talks with three parliamentary parties after the resignation of PM Marjan Šarec. The potential coalition partners, Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), have not officially confirmed the talks.
The first round of talks was held last Friday and SDS head Janez Janša announced the second round for today in the invitation to that meeting.
DeSUS leader Aleksandra Pivec labelled the first meeting as "the SDS testing the ground to see if there was readiness to continue", noting content or staff had not been on the table yet.
So this is expected to be on the agenda today. It should therefore become clear in the coming days if the parties will be able to overcome their differences. For now, all parties are tight-lipped about the talks.
The three parties are still checking the sentiment among their members, with the situation being the most turbulent in the SMC.
Its vice president, Ksenija Klampfer, the outgoing labour minister, left the party yesterday in protest of the talks with the SDS. The party's former president and founder, Miro Cerar, has also ruled out being part of a Janša-led government.
SMC head Zdravko Počivalšek said it was perfectly understandable that opinions differ but he thinks issues should be discussed rather than "doors slammed".
He has been arguing that the way to an operative and strong government leads through dialogue not a policy of exclusions.
STA, 3 February 2020 - The leader of the largest opposition party, Janez Janša of the Democrats (SDS), has invited the other parliamentary parties to talks on a new coalition this Friday, the STA has learnt from several parties.
Janša would like to meet each party separately, and if common ground is found, he would plan a second round of talks for Tuesday, 11 February.
The SDS has also invited the coalition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), which today invited all parties but the SDS to form a "project coalition" which would be in office until electoral legislation is reformed.
Meanwhile, outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec's LMŠ party and the opposition Left have already said they would not go to the SDS-led talks.
Friday's talks would try to establish whether the parties have compatible programmes for individual areas, or ministries.
The structure of a new government as well as suitable staff would also be discussed to form what the SDS terms For Slovenia coalition pledge.
In the invitation, Janša writes that Slovenia's greater prosperity is the basic goal after every election.
He believes that by forming a new coalition in this term at least some missed opportunities could be made up for.
Despite winning the 2018 election, the SDS was unable to form a government because it was snubbed by other parties, which Janša termed "irrational policy of exclusion".
He believes obstacles to the country's faster and balanced development should be eliminated, more freedom, security, responsibility and justice should be introduced, order restored in healthcare and strategic answers found to the ageing society. The new government should also help shape European solutions.
Janša stressed that the SDS was probably the only party fully ready for a potential early election.
Nevertheless, a new election could result in a similarly fragmented parliament, which would put it in a similarly difficult situation in terms of coalition-forming.
Janša also noted that by forming a coalition without going to elections would get Slovenia a new government as early as the start of the spring, as opposed to the end of the summer in case of an early election.
Šarec resigned on 27 January, 16 months after his government was sworn in, because he assessed he could not deliver on his promises with the minority government.
Tomorrow, President Borut Pahor is launching a three-day consultation with deputy group leaders on the way out of the current political crisis.
STA, 30 January 2020 - Several parliamentary parties announced on Thursday they were starting preparations for a snap election after the resignation of Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, but their statements suggest they are leaving all options open, including talks on a new coalition.
The Democrats (SDS), with 26 MPs the biggest party in parliament and as such the decisive factor in any coalition talks, said it had already confirmed a preliminary list of candidates for a snap election and formed local campaign teams.
Nevertheless the party is "leaving options open for serious talks with other parties," MP Jelka Godec said after a session of the party's executive committee.
Deputy group leader Danijel Krivec said all options had been put on the table but no decisions had been made. The party plans to wait for other parties to decide what to do and then proceed based on their feedback.
"Our door is always open, it's up to them to make the move now. We weren't the ones ostracising in the past, others did," he said in reference to how parties in the outgoing coalition had refused to talk to SDS after the last election due to SDS's radical platform, in particular on migrations.
There has been some speculation in recent days that SDS leader Janez Janša might step aside and let someone else take the premiership to make a coalition more palatable for potential partners, but Krivec indicated this was not an option.
He said Janša was "the best candidate we have and we're still the party with the largest number of MPs. I think no other option is possible at this point."
Janša did not talk to the press after the meeting.
The Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), fresh from a bitterly contested election for the party presidency, said after a session of its top decision-making bodies today it was preparing for both options and planned to engage in talks on a new coalition if an invitation arrives.
If the party is invited to coalition talks, they will make their demands clear. "All decisions will be adopted by the party's bodies," said the new DeSUS president, Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec.
MP Franc Jurša said the key now was to prepare for an election. "But if a coalition is formed, be it right or left, we have to listen and participate in these debates".
The Social Democrats (SD), another junior partner in Šarec's government, formally initiated preparations for a snap election today by appointing a campaign team and starting the vetting process for candidates.
Since Šarec stepped down the party has advocated a snap election as the best option and party leader Dejan Židan reiterated this stance following a meeting of the SD presidency today.
"I don't want people to look for a thousand and one reasons to extend this, to keep positions," he said about ideas entertained in particular by smaller parties for an alternative coalition.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Šarec ruled out any options that would involve his LMŠ party entering a new government and reiterated his stance that a snap election was the best choice.
He said the onus was now on the SDS and its leader and "if the SDS is not in government, a [new] government will not come about". "It is now up to others to make the move," he said.
