Slovenia: Janša returns as head of government

Janša took his oath of office immediately after the election. “Today a step was taken towards a more successful and freer Slovenia,” he said to applause from MPs. 87 of the 90 MPs cast their votes, 36 voted against the new prime minister. It is already his third comeback as head of government. After his party’s narrow defeat in the parliamentary election in March, he put together a center-right coalition that is tolerated by the pro-Russian Resni.ca (Truth) party. 48 of the 90 MPs nominated him for the office. The three parties in the left-leaning previous government coalition have 40 MPs.

Future prime minister adopts a Euro-critical tone

During his presentation, Janša cited economic development, the fight against corruption, decentralization and de-bureaucratization as the key priorities of his government. In his presentation to the MPs, he acknowledged Slovenia’s membership in the European Union and NATO, but also struck a Euro-critical tone.

Slovenia did not join the EU in order to give up the independence it had gained from Yugoslavia and to be subject to additional bureaucracy, said Janša. Therefore, it will fight with other states to abolish the “harmful bureaucracy”. Illegal migration into the EU must also be stopped so that there can be freedom of movement within the Union again. At the same time, he committed himself to a militarily strong Europe that should “show actual power and use it in the event of threats.” EU enlargement is also a strategic goal. “If the space of peace doesn’t expand, someone else will expand. There is no vacuum,” emphasized the conservative politician, who made a name for himself as a vehement supporter of Ukraine in his last term as prime minister.

Outgoing prime minister makes serious allegations against Janša

Representatives of the outgoing center-left coalition made serious allegations against the future prime minister and his supporters. The head of government also spoke up from among the MPs Robert Dove spoke out and described Janša as “the biggest threat to sovereignty and democracy” in Slovenia. Janša not only took Hungarian money for party media and in return sold Slovenian companies to people in the inner circle of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but also “brought the most disreputable secret services in the world into the country in order to influence the election with lies,” said Golob. Janša “cold-bloodedly sold the sovereignty of the state just to come to power,” said Left leader Asta Vrečko, alluding to the smear campaign orchestrated by Israeli ex-secret service agents against the prime minister’s liberal Freedom Movement (GS).

After relevant revelations, Janša had to admit that he had met with the Israelis. But he denied involvement in the campaign. He only spoke to the ex-secret service officers about the Middle East conflict. Janša is considered a supporter of Israel. His government is expected to withdraw the recognition of Palestine decided under Golob. In the wake of the Gaza conflict, Slovenia became a pioneer of criticism of Israel in Europe, and it was also one of the states that boycotted the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.

Golob also accused his predecessor and likely successor of saying at a meeting of the National Security Council in the presence of President Nataša Pirc Musar that he wanted to send Golob “to Dob (well-known Slovenian prison, note)”. Golob referred to Janša’s previous terms of office and his leadership style back then. His “true nature” always showed itself when he was in power. Slovenia has already seen three times “that there is no connection between this person’s words and actions,” said the outgoing head of government. “I’m not expecting miracles, but we should all know what we’re voting on.” Janša will be no different the fourth time than before.

Conservative politician wants to lead minority government

Janša has been at the head of the conservative Democratic Party (SDS) since 1993 and was head of government from 2004 to 2008, in 2012-13 and 2020-22. He was in prison for several weeks before the 2014 election because of a corruption scandal. The verdict was later overturned. Critics accuse Janša of an authoritarian style of government and attacks on the media. He was also considered a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was voted out in April. Golob narrowly won the election in March, but lost the joint majority with two left-leaning parties. Janša has forged a coalition with a right-wing party alliance and the Democrats of his ex-deputy Anže Logar. The three factions do not have a majority in parliament. Resni.ca boss Stevanović has announced a tough opposition policy.