By: Vida Kocjan
As local elections approach, the incumbent mayor of Ajdovščina, Tadej Beočanin (SD), is also building his campaign for a fourth term on criticism of the current government. Displaying a banner reading “Our first government / The last government does not like Primorska,” he presents himself as a defender of the Primorska region against the current centre-right government.
The facts, however, tell a different story. In August 2026, the government of Janez Janša approved the transfer of state-owned land (approximately 28,545 square metres and valued at around €2.53 million), free of charge, to the Municipality of Ajdovščina. In mid-September, Dr Monika Kirbiš Rojs, Minister for Local Self-Government, Cohesion and Regional Development, signed the relevant agreements with the mayor. This opened the way for the construction of a new healthcare complex, including a health centre with 15 family medicine clinics, paediatric and dental services, a pharmacy, a satellite emergency unit, and a parking facility, as well as the establishment of the third helicopter emergency medical service base for western Slovenia. The project, estimated to cost between €32 million and €36 million and supported by a major donation from the Boscarol family, had stalled under the previous government led by Robert Golob and supported by the Freedom Movement, Social Democrats (SD), and The Left. The current government resolved the issue in just over 100 days.
This was highlighted by SDS MP Zvone Černač, who wrote on X:
“Ajdovščina deserves a different mayor. After Janez Janša’s government transferred the land for the new healthcare centre and the third helicopter emergency base free of charge within 100 days, something the previous government failed to accomplish in four years, Mayor Beočanin stands in front of a banner claiming that this government does not like the people of Primorska.”
Minister Dr Monika Kirbiš Rojs responded directly and sharply. She said that reading the banner with its “blood-red lettering” gave her “literal chills” – not because of politics, but because of what she viewed as a disregard for facts and for the residents of Ajdovščina. She stressed that the municipality does not belong to the mayor and his supporters, and that residents, including families, elderly people, patients, and healthcare workers, should not become hostages to political messaging. She also emphasised that cooperation on key development projects should not depend on political affiliation or geographical background. “Actions speak louder than banners.”
Double standards as an election strategy
Beočanin presents the healthcare centre and helicopter emergency base as achievements of his campaign. However, the fact remains that without the transfer of state-owned land, the project would have remained stalled. The banner featuring Beočanin is portrayed as a populist tool of regional division: the “first” (left-wing) government is presented as “ours,” while the “last” (centre-right) government is portrayed as hostile to the Primorska region. The reality is that the current government led by Janez Janša accelerated the transfer of state property to municipalities in record time, with Ajdovščina being among the first beneficiaries.
A mayor who, instead of acknowledging concrete achievements, prefers to divide Slovenia into “us” and “them” is placing a political message above the interests of residents. The people of Ajdovščina need accessible healthcare services and development opportunities, not to be used as hostages in an election campaign.
Why it matters
Citizens deserve the truth about who actually delivered results. Banners featuring red stars and partisan symbolism are reminders of an older political culture of division rather than a focus on solving healthcare and emergency-service challenges. Local government works best when it cooperates with the state on concrete projects rather than politicising them for electoral advantage. Voters in Ajdovščina will make their decision on 15 November. The actions are clear. The banners remain just banners.
The banner was, in effect, taken “out of mothballs.” It had already been used in 2005 during celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Boris Kidrič government, which was established in Ajdovščina and which official historical narratives have presented as the “first Slovenian government.” Because representatives of what was then the first government of Janez Janša did not attend the ceremony, some veterans’ activists created and displayed the banner at that time.