By: L. K. F.
“The result of this election does not change our programme or principles in any way. We are always ready to cooperate for the common good of Slovenia, regardless of whether we are in the government or in the opposition. We will never act in the way that most of the opposition has done in the last two years,” SDS President and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša said in an address at the Cankarjev dom press centre tonight.
“If this number of seats remains, we have equalled the best result of the party in history. We also significantly increased the number of electoral votes. We have won in many counties where we have never won before. In this regard, I would like to thank all those who worked hard for these results,” Janša added. “Above all,” he added, “we did not win seats because of other parties, but because of our efforts over the last two years and a few tens of thousands more votes than we did in previous elections.”
Moreover, he expressed regret: “I am sorry that all the parties that cooperated with the coalition in one way or another did not perform together. In this case, the result would be different.” He continued: “The result gives a picture of the high turnout, which we welcome. I wish there was such a high turnout in all the elections. The new government, whatever it may be, faces many challenges, but solid foundations have been laid during this term, and it is possible to move forward quite peacefully on these foundations and avoid the reefs that are known.”
He thanked all the voters who voted for the SDS and the teams that worked during the election weeks, as well as the coalition partners with whom they cooperated during the election campaign, in addition to doing all government work.
SDS Vice President Aleš Hojs commented: “It is more than obvious that people have chosen a new face, even though the current coalition has done so much concrete and good for the country and citizens, both to overcome the crisis and the economy, progress, development. We will see if the current winners will fulfil many of the promises they made to the citizens in the campaign, but if they do not, those who voted for them will soon see how someone took them across the water while thirsty.”
In the youth organisation, including the SDM president Dominik Štrakl, they said: “Given that the entire media apparatus and the civil sphere have become active and thus supported Golob, this result is not surprising. Namely, people were not presented with objective information, I can even claim that they received distorted media information. Voters have now redirected the votes they gave to KUL in the past to a new face because of their behaviour over the past two years. Despite this election result, we will continue to work in the SDM, more and more young people are joining us, and it seems that young people will also have more seats.”
The coalition party NSi is satisfied with the outcome. Party President Matej Tonin: “We won another medal at the Olympic Games. But tomorrow we face several important challenges that have not gone away with this election. NSi is not afraid of them. We will work hard in the opposition, we will be a constructive, not a radical opposition. If anything, then in the last two years we have all been able to learn that putting a spanner in the works, which this opposition has been doing, only takes us out of the parliament.”
They are extremely surprised by the big difference between Golob’s party and the SDS in the Povežimo Slovenijo (POS) movement, Vice President Alojz Kovšca said: “Personally, I did not expect such results. However, the fact that the POS did not come to the parliament does not mean that we are losers, as we have improved our result. We are staying connected and we set ourselves the goal of working more in the local elections.” However, Kovšca is disappointed with the choice of voters; “I am sorry that people have bet on either the left or the right political option and neglected the centre. This is not good for society, the state. At the same time, I believe that the new coalition will find it difficult to cope with the tasks ahead of it.” The Gibanje Svoboda party is an ad hoc group whose main interest was to replace Janša. They are not an organic whole. I am afraid it is still very hot.”
The president of the Naša dežela party, Aleksandra Pivec, is satisfied with the result, considering that the party has barely existed for a good year, but they managed to establish a strong and solid membership base and create a party network in Slovenia. “We worked to represent the voice of the Slovenian farmer, worker and all those silent people who do not reach the political decision-making space in Ljubljana,” she added. “Regardless of the fact that we did not manage to cross the threshold of the National Assembly, we will not give up, we will continue to build the party,” Pivec added.