STA, 15 December 2019 - The December Vox Populi poll shows the coalition Marjan Šarec Party (LMŠ) at the top of the party rankings with the support of 20.2% of respondents. The opposition Democrats (SDS) are in place two with 16.6%. Moreover, 50.4% of the respondents believe the government is doing a good job.

While the government's approval rating grew by 5.8 percentage points over November, LMŠ's support dropped by 1.1 percentage points. On the other hand, the support for the SDS increased by 3.1 percentage points.

Similarly, the support for the Social Democrats (SD), in place three, also went up this month, reaching 9.7%, while a month ago it was at 7.1%.

The opposition Left is in fourth place this month with 6.5% (6.6% in November), followed by New Slovenia (NSi) with 5.3% (7.4% in November) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) with 3.1% (3.2% in November) and the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) with 2.8%.

Excluding the undecided voters from the poll (23.1%), the SLS would make it into parliament, according to Vox Populi. The rest of the parties would not make it across the 4% parliamentary threshold.

President Borut Pahor continues to top the popularity rankings, followed by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and MEP Tanja Fajon.

The Vox Populi poll was commissioned by newspaper Dnevnik and broadcaster RTV Slovenia and conducted by pollster Ninamedia between 10 and 12 December, including 700 people.

STA, 5 December 2019 - The opposition Democrats (aka Slovenian Democratic Party - Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS) issued a demand Thursday that the government widen deployment of the army on the border under provisions of the defence act that may be triggered in the event of mass migrations.

Police figures show 11,786 cases of illegal border crossing in January-September, up over 70 from a year ago, which the SDS says demands that the government take measures to "provide for the security of the residents of Slovenia".

The SDS motion will be debated at a joint session of the parliamentary defence and home policy committees on 12 December.

The army received limited police powers under amendments to the defence act passed in October 2015, at the peak of the migration crisis when thousands of migrants crossed into Slovenia each day.

The provisions may be activated for a period of up to three months, a decision which requires an absolute majority in parliament to be initiated.

Soldiers are already assisting the police in patrolling the border and the SDS motion is unlikely to gain traction considering the government's official position that the police are doing a good job protecting the border.

STA, 10 October - Right-wing parties organised a rally in Ljubljana Thursday afternoon, headlined Save Slovenia. Protestors, who filled the Prešeren Square, called against corruption and expressed their dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Marjan Šarec.

Organised by the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) and former Maribor mayor and upper chamber member Franc Kangler, the rally was also backed by the Democrats (SDS), the biggest opposition party, as well as several non-parliamentary parties and civil initiatives.

In his address to what the SLS said were 5,000 protestors, Kangler talked about unequal treatment. Millions of euro of debt have been written off for some people, while others are being punished for helping out a neighbour, he said.

Več kot 5.000 se nas je zbralo pred Prešernovim spomenikom, da #RešimoSlovenijo ?? In jo bomo! @Marjan_Podobnik pic.twitter.com/8rF7sNDxOy

— SLS (@strankaSLS) October 10, 2019

He also accused the government of disrespecting the Constitutional Court and called on Šarec to resign. Slovenia needs a prime minister who shows respect for everybody, not just "first class" citizens. "Enough is enough," he said, adding "it smells like spring" in a reference to the start of Slovenian independence efforts dubbed as the Slovenian spring.

SDS head Janez Janša also addressed the protestors, saying the rally was about making a stop to double standards and the deep state. "This is the beginning of the end of anti-Slovenian comedy... After today, nothing will be as it was."

He called for debt write-offs to "first-class" citizens to be audited, that privileges for some be weeded out of the pension system, a complete block on the border for illegal crossings and lustration of corrupt judges.

He also called for de-centralisation of state institutions, more money for municipalities, abolishment of unnecessary agencies and funds, a drastic reduction in the number of regulations, order in health care, among other things.

Prešernov trg je premajhen, protestniki tudi na treh mostovih in na Čopovi. #protest pic.twitter.com/MObNoDjqnO

— miro petek (@miro5ek) October 10, 2019

Janša also demanded responsibility of those who stole from state-owned banks twice, laundered terrorist money in them and shamed Slovenia around the world.

The SDS head said the protestors will insist on their demands, coming together again next time in even greater numbers and not only in Ljubljana, but across the country.

Other speakers also took the floor; demanding the resignation of Environment Minister Simon Zajc, whose department is viewed as having failed to control bear and wolf populations in Slovenia, and criticising the government's ineffectiveness in shoring up illegal migrations.

At the rally, signatures were also collected under a petition listing the protestors' demands.

Before the rally, the key organisers were received by upper chamber President Alojz Kovšca, after which a mass for the homeland was given in the Franciscan Church in Prešeren Square, followed by a concert of patriotic songs.

Kako lep je danes Prešernov trg, ovit v slovensko zastavo ??? pic.twitter.com/wL5UzSxJOy

— Ana Zagožen (@AnaZagozen) October 10, 2019

STA, 20 July 2019 - Democrats (SDS) head Janez Janša hailed the opposition party's election results in the past year and criticised the current government as he addressed the starting gathering of the SDS's traditional two-week summer camp near Bovec.

The largest get-together for the party's rank-and-file, held at Bovec airport, heard Janša celebrate the SDS's results in the last general, local and European elections.

"It is hard to be unhappy if you post three victories in three elections," he said, while acknowledging that only the local elections truly resulted in the party participating in decision making.

Začel se je tradicionalni že 24. poletni tabor SDS in Gorniškega kluba dr. Henrika Tume. Vabljeni, da v okviru tabora z nami osvojite ponos slovenske države Triglav in kraljico slovenskih gora Škrlatico. #SDSzate Več o programu na: https://t.co/zmnHMkO1vv pic.twitter.com/bw7wXRsXVo

— SDS (@strankaSDS) July 20, 2019

The government was formed after the general election by the losers of the election, he argued, suggesting that this was not usual "in normal democracies".

"Slovenia is not at that stage yet," he said, saying the government should be in the hands of the one who earned the most trust in the election.

Janša nonetheless believes that the party has emerged out of these developments stronger, saying it got 2000 new members, including many young people.

Meanwhile, he also touched on the situation in the European political arena. He said that while the cards are being mixed anew there, Slovenia is again showing too little ambition and is not being considered a serious player on the European map.

"This also has negative consequences when it comes to securing projects, seats in European institutions, for the country's reputation and for foreign investment," Janša said.

Moreover, he was critical of the choice of Slovenian's Ambassador to the EU Janez Lenarčič as the Slovenian candidate for EU commissioner.

He said the choice was mostly guided by the wish to put forward somebody who would not endanger anyone at home, irrespective of their prospect for benefiting Slovenia in any way in the EU.

The SDS's camp involves various activities, including several hikes, among them to Mt. Triglav on 27 July.

All our stories on the SDS are here

STA, 27 May 2019 - Political analysts believe the opposition Democrats (SDS/EPP) are in a way a loser of this year's EU vote even if their joint slate with the SLS has won three MEPs and the largest share of the vote. Andraž Zorko and Rok Čakš have however pointed to the success of the Social Democrats (SD/S&D), which have gained one seat.

Although the victory of the joint slate of the SDS and the People's Party (SLS) is convincing, the SDS is actually a loser: it will have one MEP less, since the third one is a member of the SLS, Zorko of pollster Valicon told the STA.

"Even without pairing up with the SLS, the SDS would have won enough votes to secure three seats", as was the case in the 2014-2019 term, believes Zorko.

Agreeing that three SDS+SLS seats somewhat overshadowed the fact that compared to 2014-2019, the SDS has lost one MEP, Čakš believes that by joining forces, the SDS+SLS "took the key step towards victory". He noted the SLS had contributed one MEP and added a significant 5% to the outcome.

Zorko believes the Social Democrats (SD) may be considered the biggest winner, not only picking up an extra seat but nearly trebling the number of votes compared to five years ago.

On the home ground, the SD's result strengthens this coalition party against the LMŠ of PM Marjan Šarec and further weakens the position of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and especially of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), said Domovina portal editor Čakš.

Both Zorko and Čakš, meanwhile, believe the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) did well, winning two seats in its first EU elections.

"The LMŠ has broken through with two MEPs apart from winning around 74,000 votes, which is an above-average index compared to the general elections," said Zorko.

The analysis are however unanimous in that the opposition Left is the biggest loser, having made several mistakes during the campaign.

"It had an excellent starting position and a spitzenkandidat at EU level, but with awkward moves during the campaign it squandered a seat it was practically already secured," said Čakš.

Zorko believes the Left's biggest mistake was its first-seeded candidate, MP Violeta Tomić, who did not do well in the EU arena.

Another loser is according to Zorko the Pensioners' Party (DeSus) and its leading candidate, outgoing MEP Igor Šoltes.

"It actually lost twice," said Zorko, noting DeSUS lost a seat it had in 2014-2019 (its MEP Ivo Vajgl did not stand for re-election) and Šoltes lost his own seat.

The election outcome has also brought change to the Slovenian centre-right parties, as the centre-right has lost one seat to have four, just as the centre-left parties.

Čakš attributed the fact that the centre-left had gained one seat to its successful campaign in districts where it is strong.

Otherwise there are no major winners or losers among other parties, though Zorko pointed to a small victory for the SMC.

Although its election result is relatively poor, it regained the seat in the Slovenian parliament it lost when its MP Milan Brglez defected to the SD.

Since he was now elected MEP, his seat will be filled by a SMC stand-in deputy because he was elected on the SMC slate last year.

With one MEP, the NSi is where it was five years ago, the only difference being that its new MEP is a woman. "They lost nothing by not joining forces with the SLS, but they were not far from winning a second MEP," said Zorko.

And it was perhaps premature to put a member of the Slovenian minority on the slate in Slovenia, Zorko commented on the Alenka Bratušek Party's (SAB) choice of its frontrunner Angelika Mlinar. "The experiment has fallen through."

STA, 26 May 2019 - The joint list of the Democrats (SDS) and People's Party (SLS) won Sunday's EU election in Slovenia ahead of two coalition parties, but the overall balance of power in the Slovenian EU Parliament has shifted to the left.

The SDS+SLS list won 26.5% of the vote and three MEPs, the coalition Social Democrats (SD) and Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) got two each with 18.6% and 15.6%, respectively, with the opposition New Slovenia getting 11.1% and one MEP seat.

MEPs Milan Zver, Romana Tomc and Franc Bogovič won re-election on the SDS+SLS slate and Tanja Fajon was re-elected MEP for the SD, but the remaining four will be novices.

Somewhat surprisingly, Milan Brglez, former speaker of parliament, was elected second MEP from the SD slate thanks to preferential votes.

For the LMŠ, front-runner Irena Joveva and second-placed Klemen Grošelj will serve in parliament, while Ljudmila Novak will return to Brussels as the only deputy for the NSi.

The SDS declared resounding victory, with party leader Janez Janša stressing that this was the result of the only tie-up between two parties in this election, one which could also serve as a model for future ballots.

Nevertheless, the conservative camp has gone from having five to four MEPs, as the SD picked up one more and the LMŠ got two in what was its first EU vote.

This was despite the fact that the Left and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) narrowly missed the threshold, respectively with 6.35% and 5.65%, even though both were projected to be much closer to winning a seat.

The National Party (SNS) and Alenka Bratušek List (SAB) were virtually tied at 4.01%. The Modern Centre Party (SMC) was far behind with 1.58%, having been overtaken by two green parties and the far-right Homeland League.

The results are almost final, but several hundred mail-in ballot will be added to the tally in the coming days.

STA, 8 May 2019 - The opposition Democrats (Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS) have initiated a motion to exclude healthcare and the army from the uniform system covering wages across the entire public sector, in what could be the dismantling of a complex scheme put in place by an SDS-led government in 2008.

A decade after it was established the system is causing dissatisfaction, in particular when it comes to incentivising the best performers and those with the biggest workload, SDS deputy Jelka Godec told the press on Wednesday. "The most severe anomalies, discrepancies and warnings come from defence and healthcare," she said.

The SDS demands an emergency session of parliament to debate its motion. It proposes that the government prepare an analysis of the system complete with a set of proposals on how to tackle them, which should include the possibility of excluding healthcare and soldiers from the single system.

Janez Janša, the leader of the SDS, wrote on Twitter yesterday that "after 11 years you can see from the Moon what works and that doesn't". He said the single pay system should be preserved for the public administration but "healthcare, the army, police... must go their own way".

The motion comes in the midst of one of the most severe crisis in healthcare, which is faced with the prospect of dozens, perhaps even hundreds of general practitioners leaving the public system due to what they claim are unreasonable workloads.

At several community health centres around the country most if not all GPs have handed their notices in a final escalation of tensions with the government and the public health insurer ZSSS.

In Kranj, one of the areas hit the worst by the doctors' action, almost all GP offices are closed as the doctors use up their remaining holiday days before their notices become effective, leaving the emergency service to do the work of GPs, which has led to long waiting times.

In recent weeks the government has been scrambling to come up with a solution that would be financially sustainable while also placating the doctors, but at this point a solution is not in sight.

The SDS motion dovetails with the demands of doctors, who have long argued that the single pay system is too restrictive, even as they managed to win considerable pay rises in the last few years above what other public sector employees have received.

One trade union of doctors, Praktikum, was even found to have egged on doctors to quit in order to force community health services to hire them as sole proprietors, which would liberate them from some of the bureaucracy while removing any pay restrictions.

But many in government fear any one portion of the public sector leaving the single pay system would lead to its collapse and trigger unbridled pay demands across the public sector that may jeopardise the stability of public finances.

Alenka Forte, who heads the SDS's health committee, however said today that exclusion of healthcare from the single pay system would be "a condition without which it is impossible to start improving Slovenian healthcare."

"Those who want improvements in healthcare must stop with ideology, they should not compare us to Venezuela. We need to look at best practices in the EU and start working on making healthcare serve the patients," she said.

The Public Administration Ministry said in a response that individual profession groups or parts of the public sector leaving the uniform system was not a guarantee that their pay would be regulated in a more appropriate way.

The ministry said that the SDS probably assumed that partial negotiations would make it easier for an individual profession group to get higher pay.

It meanwhile believes that the uniform system provides better possibilities for rewarding best performers and those with the biggest workload. It will soon present to public sector trade unions and negotiate relevant changes to the system.

The ministry also noted that Public Administration Minister Rudi Medved and PM Marjan Šarec had stressed on several occasions that the exit of one or more profession groups from the system could cause it to collapse.

The system would become non-transparent and hard to manage, it said, adding that the "assessment that the wage bill for public sector employees would increase even further is justified."

STA, 30 April 2019 - The Ljubljana Local Court has drastically reduced the fine originally issued to the opposition Democrats (SDS) in connection to the first of two violations of the political parties act, while only issuing a reprimand as opposed to a fine in connection to the second, shows a report by the weekly Demokracija.

The SDS, which has made headlines over two contentious loans it took out in 2017, was indicted by the Court of Audit in March 2018 and found guilty by the local court earlier this year, but reports about the details have been conflicting.

The Local Court, which maintains that the largest parliamentary party broke the law in both cases, has revised upon the SDS's appeal both of its original verdicts reached in fast-track procedure.

While it originally ordered the party to pay EUR 20,000 and its head Janez Janša EUR 2,000 over a EUR 60,000 loan illegally taken out from the publisher Nova Obzorja, it later reduced the fines to EUR 4,200 and EUR 500, respectively.

The SDS told the STA that it is also not happy with the revised verdict and is challenging it at the Higher Court.

The party will on the other hand probably not appeal the revised decision of the Local Court in the segment of the case pertaining to a EUR 450,000 loan taken out with Bosnian citizen Dijana Đuđić.

The court initially issued a EUR 4,200 fine to the party and EUR 450 to Janša, but later decided to only issue a reprimand and have them cover the costs of the court procedure.

Parties can only borrow from banks and savings banks, or a limited amount from individuals. The Đuđić loan vastly exceeded this amount.

The SDS returned the first instalment, EUR 150,000, it had already received from the then 32-year-old Bosnian immediately after the Court of Audit's opinion, which the Local Court listed as a mitigating circumstance. It also noted that the loan agreement had been approved by a notary.

STA, 25 April 2019 - The opposition Democrats (SDS) filed into parliamentary procedure on Thursday a bill on the creation of a demographic fund to prop up the pension system. In line with the proposal, all of state assets would be transferred to the fund, which would mainly finance pensions.

SDS head Janez Janša called on all parliamentary parties to add their remarks. The only point the SDS will insist on is the transfer of all state assets onto the fund, he said.

Otherwise the arguing over which assets should be transferred to the fund will go on forever, he said.

The aim of the bill is to improve the financial situation of pensioners, which is currently below the level of Slovenia's development, and lift the pressure off employers and employees, who have to pay increasingly high contributions to the pension fund to keep the pension system sustainable.

He noted that the name National Pension Fund would be more appropriate than the demographic fund.

According to Janša, the transfer of all state assets onto the fund would also facilitate management of state assets, which is currently not transparent because it is divided among several institutions.

The role of the sole shareholder would be assumed by the National Assembly to make sure that the management of state assets would not be "in the hands of those on power."

In line with the SDS's proposal, the current custodian of state assets, Slovenian Sovereign Holding, would be transformed into the Slovenian demographic fund.

All other investments of the state, the pension fund management KAD fund, the real estate investment firm DSU and the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute (ZPIZ), the public pension insurer, would also be transferred to the new fund.

According to SDS MP Andrej Šircelj, the fund would have a supervisory board and a management.

The supervisory board would have 13 members, put forward by deputy groups. The number of members put forward by each deputy group would depend on the size of the deputy group.

The supervisors would be appointed by the National Assembly with a two-thirds majority of all MPs present.

The management of the fund would consist of the chairman and two members, who would be appointed by the supervisors based on a public call for applications.

Every year, the fund would give 50% of the dividends and rents it would receive, and 10% of all sale proceeds to ZPIZ.

The remaining 50% of the dividends and rents, and 40% of sale proceeds would be accumulated.

The demographic fund would allocate 50% of sale proceeds to the state budget to pay off debts.

The idea of a demographic fund as one of possible instruments to ensure a long-term sustainability of the pension system was floated years ago.

Its establishment was envisaged under the 2013 pension reform of the Alenka Bratušek government and every government since has dealt with the issue.

The current government coalition has also committed to founding such a fund in its coalition agreement. While the Finance Ministry has not revealed when the bill would be ready, Karl Erjavec, the head of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), indicated that it might be ready this autumn.

Reacting to the SDS's motion today, most parties said they would study the proposal and respond to Janša's invitations to talks. The ministry, as well, said that it would study the proposal, although it was working on its own bill.

The coalition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the Modern Centre Party (SMC) expressed belief that any proposal on how to shape the fund would be useful and worth debating.

Matjaž Han, deputy group head of the coalition Social Democrats (SD), said that establishing a demographic fund would be much more than a project of a single party, this government or this coalition. This would be a project of the generation and a topic that must be discussed.

Erjavec meanwhile said that this was an important bill but expressed fear that the motion was politically motivated, adding that if the SDS were serious about it, it would have endorsed a similar bill drafted by DeSUS.

He said he was looking forward to seeing the bill drafted by the Finance Ministry. The ministry meanwhile said the task force working on the bill would model the bill on best practices of similar funds abroad.

All out stories on demographics in Slovenia can be found here

SDS-SLS candidates join EU election race

STA, 23 April 2019 - The opposition Democratic Party (SDS) and the non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) formally submitted their joint list of candidates for the upcoming EU election to the National Electoral Commission (DVK) on Tuesday. They expect winning the May election by a landslide.

The list is topped by Milan Zver, the current MEP who was the SDS' top candidate already in the previous EU election in 2014. Apart from him, it features another two MEPs of the SDS, Romana Tomc and Patricija Šulin, as well as the SLS MEP Franc Bogovič, former Maribor's mayor Franc Kangler, prominent SDS member Alenka Forte, and two candidates from the SDS youth wing, Davorin Kopše and Alja Domjan.

"I'm sure of a landslide victory since the list includes extremely competent people in the professional as well as political terms," said Zver, adding that the two parties are counting on at least four seats.

Zver pointed out that the SDS and SLS were anticipating an intensive election campaign period, since the EU was facing an existential crisis. EU citizens should thus vote for parties which are striving to keep the member states together.

Zver also said that the centre-right political spectrum had a head start advantage over the centre-left one since the latter was less consolidated.

The deadline of submitting the candidacies expires on Friday, when the election campaign officially gets under way.

The opposition National Party (SNS) and the non-parliamentary party The Good State submitted their lists last week, with all the other parties competing for the European Parliament seats scheduled to do so today or in the upcoming days.

The Social Democrats (SD) are yet to confirm their list of candidates, while the Left is still collecting signatures required to submit the list.

The campaign will last for a month, until 24 May at midnight, when the election blackout period starts.

SAB reveals its list of candidates

STA, 23 April 2019 - The Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) formally submitted its list of candidates for the May EU election to the National Electoral Commission (DVK) on Tuesday, with the party's head Alenka Bratušek stressing the significance of the upcoming election for the EU future.

"We wish that as many people as possible would participate in this election, since the EU is currently facing an important crossroads," said Bratušek.

The party's frontrunner Angelika Mlinar (Alde) pointed out that this election was decisive for the future of the European Parliament - whether it would stay pro-European or not. She also wished for a higher voter turnout compared to the one in 2014 and for a fair and interesting campaign.

Mlinar is a member of the Slovenian minority in Austria and currently serves as an Austrian MEP. She decided to vie for a seat in the Parliament on behalf of Slovenia in this year's election, even though she could have been the top candidate of the New Austria party (NEOS), which is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Bratušek pointed out that Mlinar had a wealth of experience and knowledge, which would contribute to Slovenia's development.

The deadline to submit candidacies expires on Friday, when the election campaign officially gets under way. Slovenian voters will be able to cast their ballots for new MEPs on 26 May.

Homeland League (DOM) files candidate list for EU election

STA, 23 April 2019 - The recently established, right-wing, Homeland League (DOM) has filed a list of candidates for the 26 May European Parliament elections. Party leader Bernard Brščič tops the list, followed by former Democrats (SDS) MP Lucija Ušaj, pro-life activist Norma Korošec and Marko Oblak.

Talking to the press after filing the list of candidates with the Electoral Commission on Tuesday, Brščič said that party would get the votes of those who care about Slovenia remaining the home of Slovenians and Europe remaining the home of Europeans.

"On 26 May, the fat lady will sing. We will not be stealing, we will get the votes of those who care about their homeland... Of those who believe it is the duty of the Slovenian state to ensure security and welfare of Slovenian citizens and not of migrants."

SocDems confirm manifesto, with the slogan “We Want Europe”

STA, 23 April 2019- The coalition Social Democrats (SD) endorsed a new manifesto Tuesday as they confirmed their eight candidates for the European Parliament election. They will enter the campaign with the slogan We Want Europe.

Europe is not ideal, but we do not have a better option than the EU, party leader Dejan Židan said as he addressed the rank-and-file. He described the EU as the only centre-left party that is growing with field work, which represents "an amazing opportunity."

"When we talk about the EU, we talk about solidarity, about a green, successful and victorious Europe," he said, a reference to the rest of the party's slogan, which highlights solidarity, progressiveness and justice as values that his party stands for.

MEP Tanja Fajon, the party's top-ranked candidate, was confident SD had the chance of winning two of the eight MEP slots considering that it has "very good candidates" and is offering change.

The election will be about "whether we head into a progressive, open, tolerant Europe, or into a disintegration spearheaded by conservative far-right forces that have already brought division, fear and symbols of fascism into Europe."

The manifesto highlights elimination of inequalities and strengthening of solidarity as the party's main pillars, which would include a 35-hour work week across the EU, fair taxation of multinationals, and measures to crack down on tax havens.

The party will also advocate common minimal social standards, consistent implementation of gender equality, and a ban on goods produced by child labour.

DOM will stage a guerilla campaign, according to Brščič, who believes that its alternative platform is the party's advantage.

Apart from DOM, several other parties filed their EU election lists today ahead of the Friday deadline.

All our stories on this year's EU elections are here