National Party (SNS)

Ljubljana – Lawyer and ex-Info Commissioner Nataša Pirc Musar is in the lead in the presidential race, according to a poll conducted by Mediana for public broadcaster RTV Slovenija. She enjoys the support of 23.9% of respondents and is followed by former foreign minister Anže Logar (16.6%) and Freedom Movement vice-president Marta Kos (14.4%).

Ljubljana – Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek resigned on Wednesday after he became the target of media scrutiny over lack of clarity regarding the payment of his weekend stay at an upscale hotel in Bohinj in January. He said he was “resigning exclusively due to the late payment of the bill”, and was accepting responsibility for this.

Ljubljana – Most parties contesting the upcoming election would intensify investment in infrastructure, energy, health and R&D, while they have stressed in response to STA question about which sectors they would invest in most that digitalisation should not be limited to certain sectors because it is important for all segments of society.

Ljubljana – All but one parliamentary party welcomed Slovenia’s offer to accept Ukrainian refugees, although there was some scepticism whether the country has the capacity or would even need to take in between 180,000 and 200,000 as suggested by Interior Minister Aleš Hojs. The opposition also raised unequal treatment of refugees depending on their origin.

Ljubljana – MPs endorsed on Tuesday a government-sponsored act that temporarily increases the scope of temporary or casual work available for pensioners to help the labour market recover in the wake of Covid-19. The government says the proposal will help mitigate labour shortages, whereas a part of the opposition believes the solution comes too late.

Ljubljana – Freedom Movement, the party of Robert Golob, leads the field among parliamentary and new parties in the latest poll commissioned by RTV Slovenija. The ruling Democrats (SDS) are in second.

One out of five respondents in the poll, conducted by Mediana, said they would vote for Freedom Movement, an increase of 6.8 percentage points from January.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša expressed disappointment in parliament on Monday that some should be unhappy about the good economic results posted by Slovenia, urging the opposition to compete in who does better rather than doubt about incontrovertible facts.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly is meeting for its first regular session this year Monday to tackle some contentious bills, including amendments to the gaming act, a bill to tackle the issue of Swiss franc loans and changes to the communicable diseases act. The MPs will also decide whether to withdraw the much criticised amendments to the penal code.

Ljubljana – The Credentials and Privileges Commission proposed that the National Assembly appoint to the programme council and supervisory board of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija five candidates each who had been proposed by the coalition, the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) and the opposition National Party (SNS) much to the chagrin of the centre-left opposition.

Ljubljana – The centre-left opposition insisted Marjan Dikaučič was not fit to serve as justice minister as debate on their ouster motion in parliament focussed on legal proceedings running against him. The coalition rallied in his support nonetheless, while the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS), which will decide the vote, called on him to provide concrete answers.