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Slovenia votes: Liberals face right-wing populist challeng
Jon Shelton with AFP, AP
27 minutes ago27 minutes ago
Slovenia is taking to the polls Sunday in parliamentary elections that pit the governing liberal party and PM Robert Golob against former-PM Janez Jansa and his right-wing SDS party in a vote that will impact the EU.
Slovenians began casting their ballots in parliamentary elections this Sunday in a race that will determine whether the small EU nation of 2 million people maintains its liberal course or whether illiberal right-wing populists like Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico will get added support within the bloc.
Who is in contention
Sunday’s vote largely pits incumbent Prime Minister Robert Golob and his liberal Freedom Movement party against Janez Jansa, a three-time Slovenian prime minister, and his right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS).
As the vote looks to be exceedingly close, with neither camp projected to win a clear majority in Slovenia’s 90-member parliament, small parties will be key to either side’s ability to put together a governing coalition.
The vote is also key for the 27-member European Union (EU), with Golob and his government being voices for the bloc’s majority liberal agenda, and Jansa and the SDS on the other hand backing Orban and emulating the political style of US President Donald Trump — for whom Jansa has expressed great admiration.
Slovenia has routinely swung back and forth between these two blocks since breaking away from the former, Communist-run Yugoslavia in 1991.
Slovenia joined both the EU and NATO in 2004.
This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day
Edited by: Kieran Burke
DW News
