Populism sweeps into Slovenia as Right-wingers win most votes
A RIGHT-WING, anti-immigration opposition party won the most votes in Slovenia’s parliamentary election yesterday, but not enough to form a government on its own, according to preliminary results.
The state election commission said after counting about 90 per cent of the ballots that Janez Janša’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) received around 25 per cent of the vote.
The party in second place, the centre-left List of Marjan Šarec, trailed with more than 12 per cent of the vote. The Modern Centre Party of Miro Cerar, the outgoing prime minister, was third with around 9 per cent.
The preliminary tally means no party secured a majority in the 90member parliament and the likely next step is negotiations to form a coalition.
Slovenia was once part of the former Yugoslavia and is the homeland of Melania Trump, the US first lady. The country, which borders Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and a slice of the Adriatic Sea, joined the European Union in 2004 and has used the euro as its official currency since 2007.
Mr Janša, who served as prime minister during 2004-08 and 2012-13, said his party was ready for post-election talks with other parliamentary parties. “The SDS is open for cooperation,” he said, using the Slovenian initials for the party and adding that “times ahead will require cooperation”.
However, negotiations in the wake of the elections could keep Mr Janša from another term in office since other groups have signalled they are unwilling to form an alliance with him.
Mr Šarec reiterated that a coalition with Mr Janša was not an option and said he hoped his party would lead a future coalition government.
Mr Janša is an ally of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s anti-immigration prime minister. His election success with Slovenia’s 1.7 million voters mirrors the growth of Right-wing populism in Europe after a large influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa.
A government led by Mr Janša would shift Slovenia to the Right and add another anti-immigrant voice to the EU.
Some 500,000 migrants passed through Slovenia, a country with a population of two million, during 2015.