News roundup - Saturday, 10 February

Plurality in Delo poll find potential motion of no-confidence in govt justified

LJUBLJANA - A plurality of those questioned in a poll commissioned by the newspaper Delo (44.3%) find that a motion of no-confidence in the Robert Golob government that has been suggested as one of the options by the opposition leader Janez Janša would be justified. The same view is held by 32% of those who support the Social Democrats (SD), the junior coalition party that has been in turmoil over allegations of corruption linked to the Justice Ministry's purchase of a dilapidated building for courts. Meanwhile, 38.5% do not think an ouster motion against the government warranted.

Survey: over half of doctors consider quitting public service

LJUBLJANA - As many as 85% of Slovenian doctors are worried about work overload, 40% would consider moving if offered a job abroad and 57% are thinking about leaving the public health system, the Digital Doctor survey conducted by Mediately suggests. Mediately carried out the survey in nine countries where its medical app is available, receiving answers from more than 9,300 doctors, including 418 in Slovenia. According to the Slovenian Medical Association, there were 7,127 active doctors in Slovenia as of 1 August 2023.

Nursing staff rep's critique causes upset among doctors

LJUBLJANA - Monika Ažman, the head of the Chamber of Nurses and Midwives, has upset doctors with her comments about medical students, who she suggested were educated into egotistic, non-team players. The Medical Association urged her to apologise and stand down as a national councillor. "Medical school is in principle open only to top high school leaving exam scorers, who have spent their entire high school concentrating on studying, and then they face six more years of study focused on drill, ego and butchery. We cannot expect such students to be team people in the end," Ažman told the women's magazine Ona in a recent interview. She apologised for the comment today.

Opera in Slovenian language premiers in Austria

GRAZ, Austria - The Nightingale of Gorenjska, a 19th-century Slovenian comic opera written by composer Anton Foerster, will open at the Graz Opera in Austria in the evening. The Graz Opera ensemble will sing the opera in Slovenian with German subtitles. Several Slovenians took part in the production, including conductor Marko Hribernik, set designer Marko Japelj, costume designer Leo Kulaš. The Austrian production of the opera, which was performed for the first time in 1872, has been directed by Janusz Kica, a theatre director of Polish descent who lives in Croatia but has worked extensively in Slovenian theatre.

Dragon leads Ljubljana carnival parade

LJUBLJANA - Traditional costumes and masked characters, and groups of kindergarten and school children in their own costumes joined in a long carnival procession that filed through the streets of Ljubljana headlined by a large green dragon. The Ljubljana mascot led the parade through the old town, across some of the city's main landmarks such as the Triple Bridge and the Prešeren Square, before ending in a big party in Congress Square. The carnival festivities will culminate on Sunday with major events in Ptuj, Cerknica and Cerkno.

Kos clinches first individual career Ski Jumping World Cup win

LAKE PLACID, US - Lovro Kos won the first of the Ski Jumping World Cup events in Lake Placid, US in what is the first individual World Cup win for the 24-year-old Slovenian. The competition was tight with Kos securing 278.9 points, just 0.8 points ahead of Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi in second and 1.1 points more than Marius Lindvik of Norway in third. "I really didn't expect to win today. I gave it my best and this is the final result," Kos said in his first statement.