By: Dr Metod Berlec
The Slovenian political spring has arrived! On Friday, the National Assembly elected the president of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Janša, as the new Prime Minister in a secret ballot, with as many as 51 votes in favour and 36 against. The day before, the SDS leader signed a coalition agreement with the trio of NSi, SLS and Fokus, as well as with the Democrats, with whom he aligned the programme of the incoming centre‑right government. Based on the result of the secret vote, Janša was also supported by Resni.ca, even though the party, as previously announced, will not enter the fourth Janša government. Since these parties together hold 48 parliamentary votes, it is clear that the SDS president also received the support of both minority MPs and one additional MP from the left opposition. This represents an encouraging moral boost for the future work of the new centre‑right coalition and government.
In presenting his programme, the new Prime Minister announced efforts to complete the processes of democratisation and to implement a programme for a country of opportunity, prosperity, and justice. Among the key substantive priorities of the coalition, he highlighted the development and prosperity of Slovenia, the fight against corruption and organised crime, decentralisation, and debureaucratisation. He thanked the coalition partners for the substantive discussions and the alignment of programme points. After his convincing election, he took the constitutional oath, pledging to respect the constitutional order, act according to his conscience, and work with all his strength for the prosperity of Slovenia. In his brief address to MPs after the vote, he emphasised that this was an “important step towards a more successful and freer Slovenia,” and tellingly added: “Thank you, and no concessions.” With this, he indicated that the incoming government faces a great deal of work. It is therefore expected that the ministerial team of the upcoming 16th Slovenian government will be presented to the public in the coming days and confirmed in early June.
It must be emphasised that this represents a major political and personal victory for Janez Janša, a politician whom many “political analysts,” “experts,” and politicians have written off many times. Yet through persistence, straightforwardness, and a programme grounded in the values of Slovenia’s democratisation and independence, as well as an awareness of current and future challenges, he has once again proven himself to be a top‑tier politician and statesman. On the other hand, the outgoing Prime Minister and leader of the Freedom Movement, Robert Golob, has transformed from a relative election winner into a complete loser of the post‑election developments, as he failed to form a government after the vote. Into a pathetic political dilettante. Instead of political reflection, he now reacts resentfully and aggressively – almost like a kind of chihuahua – lashing out at the winner of the post‑election process and attempting to shift responsibility for his failure onto others. This confirms the analysis expressed by Peter Jambrek, head of the Cathedral of Freedom, in the pre‑election programme Beremo on Nova24TV. According to him, the last party chief, Milan Kučan, made two major mistakes in recent years: supporting the inclusion of the extremist Left party in Golob’s government, and betting everything before the election on the Freedom Movement and the egocentric Golob.
