News roundup - Monday, 10 June

SDS wins EU election as right wing gets five MPs

LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democratic Party (SDS) won the EU election in Slovenia and will get four of the country's nine seats in the European Parliament. The ruling Freedom Movement got two, and a seat each went to the green party Vesna, the Social Democrats (SD) and the Christian democratic New Slovenia (NSi). Turnout exceeded 41%, twelve percentage points higher than five years ago and a record high in Slovenia's EU elections since the first ones in 2004.

Janša: Those who exclude have been taught lesson

LJUBLJANA - Democrat (SDS) leader Janez Janša said the government coalition had suffered a big defeat after his party won four of the nine seats in the European Parliament: "Those who are ostracising have been taught a lesson today." He proposed that the government should dissolve parliament as a result of the centre-right's win, saying the result "is a message of the Slovenian voters to the incumbent government coalition to do a similar reflection as French President Emmanuel Macron did".

Golob happy with Freedom's election outcome

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob said he was happy with his Freedom Movement's election result, as the party won two of Slovenia's nine MEPs. "In all the EU elections so far, no centre-left party - liberal, if you like - has ever got a better result than us," he said, adding that is why "we will have to work on this trust over the next two years". Golob also said that the centre-left won more votes than the centre-right if one takes into account the votes of Vesna and other left parties.

Ex-Environment Minister Leben gets job in PM's office

LJUBLJANA - The government appointed former Environment Minister Jure Leben a state secretary in the prime minister's office after he failed to get elected to the European Parliament on PM Robert Golob's Freedom Movement list of candidates. Leben will be in charge of the environment, spatial planning, climate, and dialogue with NGOs. He is the founder of a small green party which Golob took over when he entered politics before the 2022 general election, and renamed it Freedom Movement.

Vesna thrilled with results

LJUBLJANA - The green non-parliamentary Vesna party was thrilled after winning one MEP seat and the third largest share of the vote. The lead candidate, defence expert and Kočevje Mayor Vladimir Prebilič, said this was a fantastic result. People are tired of arguing and want to see more connectivity, he said. "We've brought freshness into the Slovenian political arena and we think we have a bright future ahead."

SD leader says EU election result defeat for coalition

LJUBLJANA - Social Democrat (SD) leader Matjaž Han said his party could be happy with winning one of Slovenia's nine seats in the European Parliament, one fewer than so far. However, the outcome indicated by the near-complete results is a defeat for Slovenia's coalition, which won a combined three seats. "The coalition showed a relatively poor result," said the leader of one of the coalition parties.

Tonin says voters want different Europe and Slovenia

LJUBLJANA - New Slovenia (NSi) leader Matej Tonin, who won his party one seat in the European Parliament, told the press that he felt relief after he indicated in the election campaign he could resign if the party failed to win a seat. He believes the outcome - a victory of the centre-right, shows that Slovenian voters want a different Europe and a different Slovenia. The NSi will strive to make the EU stronger and to help change the bloc in areas where the Union has failed.

Left not disappointed, says it has won on substance

LJUBLJANA - Representatives of the coalition Left said that the party's goals had been met in Sunday's EU election and triple referendum voting despite its failure to make it to the European Parliament with 4.66% of the vote. They argued the Left had improved on the result from the 2022 general election and managed to platform topics neglected for decades. "I think this is a very important victory for the Left when it comes to substance," party leader Asta Vrečko said.

SLS disappointed, but says EU vote result bodes well for general election

LJUBLJANA - The People's Party (SLS) was disappointed after they lost the one MEP seat they have had by less than half a percentage point. However this is a good result for the non-parliamentary party that bodes well for the 2026 general election. "It has been long since the SLS had broken through more than 7% of the vote independently. This was achieved today, and we will build on it going forward," party leader Marko Balažic said.

Analyst says EPP, S&D, and liberals likely to carry on together

LJUBLJANA - Analyst Marko Lovec is not surprised that the leading groups retained their majority in the European Parliament and finds a continuation of the cooperation between the EPP, S&D, and liberals the most likely scenario. At national level, this would constitute a solid majority, but as Lovec told the STA, these coalitions are more loose at EU level. Right-wing, Eurosceptic parties meanwhile gained less than expected, although the outcome was quite dramatic in certain countries.

SDS absolute winner, Vesna very successful, analyst says

LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) are the absolute winners of the European elections in Slovenia, said Valicon polling analyst Andraž Zorko. The Freedom Movement cannot be considered either losers or winners given that the party missed the third seat by about 6,000 votes, while the Social Democrats (SD) also lost the elections in relative terms, going from two seats to one. The loyalty of the voters played a key role again, but turnout would have been high even without referendums, he told the STA.

Israel summons Slovenian ambassador over Palestine recognition

TEL AVIV, Israel - The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it summoned Slovenia's Ambassador Andreja Purkart Martinez to convey to her the country's criticism of Slovenia's "wrong decision" to recognise Palestine. In a press release, the ministry said the move went against the EU policy and the positions of a majority of like-minded countries and that it was a reward for terrorism. Slovenia recognised Palestine on 4 June.

SDS wins all electoral units, most districts

LJUBLJANA - The Democrats (SDS) emerged as the winners in all eight of Slovenia's electoral units and also took the majority of the 88 electoral districts. The Freedom Movement won several urban districts, and Vesna one district covering Kočevje, where its lead candidate serves as mayor, show near final results released by the National Electoral Commission.

Catholic Church disappointed with assisted dying outcome

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Catholic bishops are disappointed with the outcome of the referendum on voluntary assisted dying, in which nearly 55% of the voters backed a plan to legislate this right. However, given the narrow result, there is still a chance to challenge the law in a binding referendum if passed, Slovenian Bishops' Conference PR officer Gabriel Kavčič wrote for the STA. He said the narrow result can in no way be interpreted as a "clear signal to the legislature" to pass an assisted dying law.

Conservative group hints at legislative referendums on assisted dying, cannabis

LJUBLJANA - The Movement for Children and Families indicated it would push for binding referendums after assisted dying and cannabis liberalisation were backed in Sunday's consultative public votes. It said that, given more time for campaigning, it should be able to overturn such laws. "We hope the government gets the message and does not legislate to poison the sick and elderly," its leader Aleš Primc said. The Association of Catholic Doctors also expressed dismay at the results.

Association of Chronic Non-Infectious Diseases says referendum outcome to close

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Association of Chronic Non-Infectious Diseases said the close cannabis referendum result does not provide legitimacy to change the legislation on personal use of cannabis. It believes that 51.55% voting for legalisation of limited personal use must not be used by the government as an argument to introduce changes. "The first step should involve the preparation of a strategy based on which experts could decide whether to adopt or reject certain legislative solutions."

Vote count in EU election and referenda marked by delays

LJUBLJANA - The effort to count all the votes in the 9 June EU election and triple referendum in Slovenia dragged late into the night. Dismissing criticism these delays elicited, the National Electoral Commission (DVK) said the situation was a result of the enormous workload staff at polling stations faced. The DVK will have to provide explanations for the delays, but the situation would in no way call into question the legitimacy of the results, PM Robert Golob said.

Many Slovenian mayors in Friuli Venezia Giulia re-elected

TRIESTE, Italy - A number of municipalities in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia that are home to the Slovenian ethnic minority will continue to be run by Slovenian mayors after the local elections this past weekend. It is already clear that Slovenians will be at the helm of local authorities in Sgonico, Monrupino, Savogna, San Floriano del Collio, San Dorligo della Valle, and Doberdo del Lago.

Council for Slovenians Abroad addresses numerous topics at maiden session

LJUBLJANA - The Council for Slovenians Abroad, a government advisory body, held its maiden session in this term, discussing the challenges faced by Slovenian communities and their organisations in neighbouring countries, including language use, culture and economic cooperation, PM Robert Golob said after the session. He said Slovenia will strive to help Slovenian communities and their organisations through dialogue with state and local authorities not only in terms of finance but also regulation.

Slovenia's prisons overcrowded, prison population rate very low

LJUBLJANA - Prison over-crowdedness remains a burning issue in a number of European countries, including Slovenia. But while Slovenia's prisons are severely overcrowded, its prison population rate is remarkably low, the Council of Europe (CoE) penal statistics report Space I for 2023 says. Seven prison administrations said the number of inmates exceeded 105 per 100 available places, which amounts to severe over-crowdedness, with the figure reaching 107 in Slovenia. In end-January 2023, 1,435 were in Slovenian prisons, or 68 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a "remarkably low" prison population rate.

Industrial output up 7.4% in April

LJUBLJANA - Industrial output in Slovenia increased by 7.4% year-on-year in April. Turnover rose by 5.8%, the Statistics Office said. Output increased by 31.5% in mining and by 8.2% in manufacturing, while it decreased by 19.7% in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply.

Man gets 27 years in prison for murder

MARIBOR - Bosnian citizen Sedin Šišić was convicted of murdering Slovenian entrepreneur Dragan Graovac last September and sentenced to 27 years in prison. The man did express remorse over the crime today, but the court took into account the brutality and expediency of the murder when handing down the sentence. The court said the motive was financial gain. The ruling is not yet final.