National Party (SNS)

Ljubljana – Four members of parliament, including Speaker Igor Zorčič, will form a new deputy group in parliament on Friday after three of them parted ways with the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) and one left the opposition Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) deputy group. This is expected to lead to the appointment of a new parliamentary speaker.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly passed on Friday amendments to the act on employment, self-employment and work of foreigners which transpose a major 2016 EU directive.

The directive sets down the conditions of entry and residence of third-country citizens for the purposes of research, studies, pupil exchange, remunerated and unremunerated training, voluntary service and au pairing.

Ljubljana – Janez Cigler Kralj remains labour minister as the opposition-sponsored motion of no confidence was defeated by 44 votes to 38 in the small hours of Friday. The National Assembly was thus eight votes short of voting him out of office.

Ljubljana – Health Minister Janez Poklukar has shot to the top of popularity ratings of politicians in a poll commissioned by the newspaper Delo, to replace President Borut Pahor after nearly nine years on top.

Delo notes that the public appears to have high expectations for Poklukar, the doctor who took over as health minister on 23 February.

Ljubljana – After consulting heads of parliamentary factions, President Borut Pahor has narrowed down the list of candidates for consideration to put forward to the National Assembly in a renewed attempt to fill a vacancy on the governing board of the central bank and one on the Constitutional Court.

Brdo pri Kranju – Slovenia’s political representatives and experts will meet in the first half of March in a bid to find a common ground on the exit strategy and restructuring of healthcare needs in the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic, President Borut Pahor has announced.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša said in parliament on Monday as the debate started on a motion of no-confidence in the government that the initiators of the motion, a group of opposition parties known as the Constitutional Arch Coalition (KUL), were wasting taxpayers’ time and money.

Ljubljana – Janez Poklukar, the director of Slovenia’s largest hospital UKC Ljubljana, has been nominated for health minister nearly two months after the resignation of Tomaž Gantar.

“Poklukar will be the new health minister,” Prime Minister Janez Janša announced on Twitter on Friday after formally submitting the nomination to the National Assembly.

Ljubljana – Deputy groups of the coalition New Slovenia (NSi), Democrats (SDS), Modern Centre Party (SMC), the opposition National Party (SNS) and both minority MPs have requested a session of the parliamentary interior and justice committees regarding what they see as stepping up of ideology-based hostility, ostracising and attacks.

Ljubljana – The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee endorsed on Thursday a bill redrawing electoral districts in line with a 2018 Constitutional Court decision. MPs of the coalition Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi), Modern Centre Party (SMC) and opposition Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) have backed the proposal.