Losing public support means losing elections, Mladina says

Ljubljana – Commenting on Freedom Movement candidate Marta Kos withdrawing from the presidential race, the weekly Mladina suggests the party’s campaign was ill-timed, warning that small defeats had also done in former prime ministers Marjan Šarec and Miro Cerar.

In Friday’s editorial titled Marta Kos Quits, Mladina notes that presidential races in Slovenia always tend to start of on a high note, but the balance of power can change quickly.

When candidates announce their bid, their support tends to surge for a while, but drops when each new candidate is revealed.

This often results in candidates expressing their dismay and blaming it on the media or their political opponents, not taking into consideration that it just might be their own fault or that the voters are really the only ones who have a say in the matter.

When Kos, a long-time diplomat and vice-president of the ruling Freedom Movement, decided to run for president it seemed that she will win by a landslide – but only until Nataša Pirc Musar, a well-known public figure known for being affirmative and outspoken, especially when criticising the previous Janša government, announced her bid.

Freedom Movement’s leader PM Robert Golob had to act swiftly, the weekly notes, and the decision was not in line with tradition in Slovenia, which is that large parties have to have a presidential candidate even when they know they have no chance of winning.

“With Kos withdrawing before the campaign has started, the Freedom Movement has made sure that they will not be perceived as the loosing side, which is very important just before local elections,” the weekly notes.

With the Freedom Movement being a political newcomer, it might have just been best if Marta Kos entered the race a bit later – chances are the outcome would have been different, according to the commentator.

“If she were to distance herself from the party and ran as an independent candidate, it just might have given her that extra push in the campaign. After all, politics is a business and tactics is everything.”

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