Following parliamentary elections in March, Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob failed to form a government, potentially paving the way for a return to power for Janez Janša.
Parliamentary Election Results
In March, Slovenia held parliamentary elections. The liberal Movement for Freedom, led by current Prime Minister Robert Golob, won the most votes. However, the margin was narrow, with the party securing 29 seats in the 90-member parliament.
The Slovenian Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Janez Janša, won one fewer seat. Other parties gaining representation include New Slovenia, the Slovenian People’s Party, and Focus with nine seats combined, Democrats and Social Democrats with six seats each, and the Left-Green coalition and the Resni.ca movement with five seats each.
Prime Minister Announces Failure to Form Government
On Monday, April 20th, Robert Golob met with President Natasa Pirc Musar. Following the meeting, the Prime Minister announced his inability to form a government, stating, “We can look forward to working in the opposition.”
Janša as Potential Successor
Golob explained he failed to find a coalition partner among the center-right parties. He suggested Janez Janša would now attempt to form a government. Janša, a three-time former Prime Minister, openly expresses strong support for Donald Trump. Golob stated, “We are convinced that this coalition of deceivers will not last long.”
Janša’s Conditions and Readiness
During the campaign, Janša stated he would only attempt to form a government with a comfortable parliamentary majority. He now indicated he has no immediate plans to do so, saying, “We can calmly wait for the opposition until those who led to this chaos face each other.”
Janša expressed confidence that his party presented the only comprehensive program during the election campaign, stating, “We can start implementing this program tomorrow. We can form a government that will be much better than the current one.”
Potential Alliance with Resni.ca
Politico noted that in early April, Janša’s party supported the candidacy of the Resni.ca leader for the position of Speaker of the Slovenian Parliament, signaling a possible alliance between the two groups.
Nikodem Szczygłowski on Wyborcza.pl questioned how the leader of populists, who received just over 5% of the Slovenian vote, began building a pro-Russian policy for the country.