Slovenia enters 2024, officials wishing all the best

The country's President Nataša Pirc Musar noted in her New Year's message that 2023 had been a year of tough challenges. Nature does not choose, but people can, she stressed, calling on citizens to show kindness, solidarity and humanity.

Pirc Musar highlighted the devastating floods that hit Slovenia last August. She assured that the reconstruction will continue and that nobody would be forgotten.

Turning to 2024, she said that this year would mark the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's membership of the EU and NATO, and that Slovenia has also just assumed membership on UN Security Council.

She wished all citizens a year of peace in 2024. "May the branches of humanity, kindness and solidarity reach out to the innocent suffering in Gaza, to the victims of the Israeli attack, to the hostages and victims of Hamas, to Ukraine and to all the places where armed conflicts are taking place," she said.

Prime Minister Robert Golob also wants Slovenians to enter the New Year as an even more united community of people of goodwill. While many believe that this is a good time to take stock of the old year, he argued that it is better to leave the bad behind and remember the good moments above all and use them as inspiration for a brighter future.

Like the president, Golob pointed to the solidarity seen in the face of the floods and thanked all who helped selflessly. He wants children to grow up in a society where human rights and personal dignity are respected, in a democratic and safe country, in a society where every individual feels accepted and valued.

Meanwhile, 2024, a leap year, is looking as a particularly good year for those cherishing their free time. No public holiday that is also a bank holiday falls on a Sunday this year. While 27 April, Day of Uprising Against Occupation, will be a Saturday, all other bank holidays will be weekdays.