Slovenian Prime Minister JanezJansa hopes to remove criticism of her record of democracy and media freedom in order to win a fourth term in parliamentary elections in the small Alpine state on Sunday. and to provide strong security in the former Yugoslav republic of the approximately 2 million people now members of the European Union and the NATO military alliance.
But Jansa, who favors US President Donald Trump and his ally the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has clashed with Brussels over media freedom and his opponents have accused him of undermining democratic principles. The right-wing party is the Slovenian Democratic Party and the environmental movement Freedom Movement, which wants more investment in renewable energy and transparency in public institutions.
Freedom Movement
A poll published by the Ninamedia polling station on Friday put the Freedom Movement at 27.7% and the SDS at 24%. The two major left-wing groups have ruled out running in the SDS-led coalition.
“Every vote is important and precious,” President BorutPahor said after the early voting. “The situation in Europe and around the world after the epidemic and the war in Ukraine means that we will not be able to deal with normal day-to-day problems in the years to come.” Another 1.7 million voters are eligible to vote from 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and polling stations will close at 7 p.m. The outgoing vote is expected to be published shortly thereafter.
EU leaders visit Ukraine
Jansa, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2008, from 2012 to 2013 and from 2020 to the present, is a strong advocate for EU expansion, including membership of Ukraine. after the Russian invasion on February 24, and promised to reduce Slovenia’s reliance on Russian gas sales.
Jansa says he has managed the economy well and hopes to benefit from the measures used to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, which includes the payment of pensions to the poor.
The Freedom Movement is led by Robert Golob, a former state power company official. It supports EU sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war but accuses Jansa of seeking to exploit the war for personal gain, a case Jansa dismissed.
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