By: Dr Metod Berlec
The Sunday referendum on the controversial law on “assistance in voluntary ending of life” delivered a clear and resounding answer from voters. The government’s law fell. The referendum’s initiators, led by Aleš Primc, together with various associations, movements, and the Church, which finally re-engaged more decisively in public life, as well as the opposition, celebrated a stage victory. 322,288 voters (46.55%) supported the law, while 370,012 (53.45%) opposed it, surpassing the rejection quorum. Turnout stood at 40.99%. The result is not merely a technical defeat of one legislative proposal, but a political earthquake that exposed the weakness and arrogance of the ruling left‑wing coalition under Prime Minister Robert Golob.
Some political commentators argue that the decline in support for Golob’s government began last year, when the centre‑right, led by SDS, won a sweeping victory in the June 2024 European elections. Even then, however, the government managed to secure all three simultaneous referendums. Public opinion polls were already wrong at that time, but this year they suffered a complete fiasco. In spring, the ruling transitional left lost the referendum on privileged pensions for cultural workers, and now again on the controversial law legalising assisted suicide. This shows that the momentum the left enjoyed in 2022, thanks to “NGOs” and the so‑called anti‑vaxxers, has largely dissipated. This time, doctors played a decisive role in the victory of the “against” option. The profession, which Golob’s arrogant government had insulted, humiliated, and ignored for three and a half years, stepped into the foreground. Doctors, with their authority and arguments, convinced the public that the law was ill‑considered, dangerous, and open to abuse. Their role was both decisive and symbolic: the profession stood up to an arrogant and harmful policy that had persistently demeaned and disparaged it.
The referendum result is therefore more than a political defeat. It is a message from a significant part of the electorate that power cannot mock expertise, civil society, and citizens without consequences. It is a warning that democracy is not measured by the arrogance of those in power, but by their ability to listen. And it is a signal that the future of Slovenian politics will be shaped by the will of its citizens, not by the ideological engineering of the ruling elite. For the centre‑right opposition, Sunday’s referendum is proof that it too can succeed with the help of civil society and the professional community – through cooperation, coalition‑building, and listening. At the same time, it must remain aware that nothing is yet decided, since the post‑communist nomenclature will do everything to cling to power. Still, it is encouraging that pre‑electoral cooperation among smaller centre‑right parties is beginning, meaning that votes will not be wasted but will contribute to a common quota for change.