Slovenian minority official Jug withdraws from Austrian politics
Klagenfurt, 7 August - Carinthian Slovenian Manuel Jug, who is the head of the Association of Slovenian Organisations (ZSO), one of the main organisations of the Slovenian community in Austria, has decided to withdraw from politics. Jug, also the alternate member of the Carinthian regional government, said politics no longer presented a challenge for him.
Ljubljana
Representative of the Slovenian minority in Austria Manuel Jug.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Jug became ZSO head in 2019 at only 21 years of age and was elected for another term in 2022. His term would have ended in 2026, but he plans to resign at an extraordinary general assembly, Austrian national broadcaster ORF reported on Tuesday.
He will also withdraw from the working group of Austrian ethnic groups in the Social Democratic Party of Austria and from the Carinthian regional government.
Jug explained to ORF's Slovenian programme that he had been considering this move for several months. "Politics is no longer a challenge for me, and I no longer see the point in being active in these bodies because I can't contribute what I would like to," he said.
Jug, who stressed that he was grateful to have led the ZSO for almost six years, also mentioned reasons related to his private life. He views the withdrawal as a fair move towards other members of the working bodies in which he is active.
He said that most members of the bodies where he was active were surprised by his decision to withdraw, though some had already expected it. According to him, discussions about his successor at the helm of the ZSO have already begun.
According to the minority newspaper Novice, Jug will focus on his private life and teaching at the Bilingual Commercial Academy in Klagenfurt in the future.