LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) – Initial polls in Slovenia’s parliamentary elections on Sunday showed the opposition Liberal Party won convincingly, inflicting a major defeat on populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who was accused of pushing the small EU country to the right. in the office.
Surveys conducted by the sociological agency Mediana and published by the public television TV Slovenia and the commercial Pop TV show that the opposition Freedom Movement won 35.8% support compared to the ruling conservative Slovenian Democratic Party with 22.5%.
Behind the first two contenders is the New Slovenia party with 6.8%, followed by the Social Democrats with 6.6% and the Left Party with 4.4%. Surveys have proven reliable in the past.
If confirmed in an official calculation, the result means that the Freedom Movement, a newcomer to the election, is likely to form the next government in a coalition with smaller center-left groups. The party leader addressed his supporters via video message from his home because he has COVID-19.
“People are dancing tonight,” Robert Golob told the applauding crowd at party headquarters. “Tomorrow is a new day and serious work lies ahead.”
Yansha posted a message to his supporters on Twitter, saying only “thank you for your vote.”
It remains unclear which, if any, other smaller groups will be able to cross the 4% threshold and what the final distribution of seats will look like.
Yansha, a veteran politician, became prime minister just over two years ago after the previous liberal prime minister resigned. An admirer of former US President Donald Trump, Yansha has pushed the country to right-wing populism since taking power at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reflecting strong interest in Sunday’s election, turnout was higher than usual – nearly 50% of Slovenia’s 1.7 million voters voted by mid-afternoon, about 15% more than in previous 2018 elections. .
Golob, a US-educated former businessman, emerged as a favorite shortly after entering the political scene. The Freedom Movement party advocates a transition to green energy and sustainable development, according to Yansha’s nationally centered narrative.
Liberals described Sunday’s election as a referendum on Slovenia’s future. They argue that Yansha, if re-elected, will push the traditionally moderate nation away from the EU’s “core” democratic values and other populist regimes.
Yansha’s UDF won the most votes in elections four years ago, but initially could not find partners for a coalition government. He took office after centrist and left-wing lawmakers replaced the country after the resignation in 2020 of liberal Prime Minister Marian Sharec.
Jansa, who is in power, has been accused of slipping into authoritarian rule in the style of his ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He came under EU scrutiny amid reports that he was putting pressure on opponents and public media and installing loyalists in key positions to control state institutions.
Freedom House’s democracy watchdog recently said that “while political rights and civil liberties are generally respected (in Slovenia), the current right-wing government continues to seek to undermine the rule of law and democratic institutions, including the media and the judiciary.” .
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