8th National Assembly of Slovenia

Ljubljana – The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), Social Democrats (SD), Left, Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) and the non-affiliated MPs, argued in the National Assembly on Friday that Education Minister Simona Kustec must go. The coalition stepped up in her defence. The Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) deputy group is still undecided.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly appointed Rok Svetlič a judge on the Constitutional Court for a nine-year term in a secret ballot on Wednesday. Svetlič received 46 votes, the minimum required to get appointed, after only 46 MPs in the 90-strong legislature picked up their ballots and all voted for him. The new judge has already been sworn in.

Ljubljana – Ljubo Žnidar, an MP for the coalition Democrats (SDS), has resigned. The party said he stepped down for personal reasons and decided to continue his professional career in the corporate sector.

SDS deputy group leader Danijel Krivec said Žnidar no longer saw himself in this role and did not wish to contest an election again.

Ljubljana – After President Borut Pahor announced he would call a general election for 24 April, this triggered varied reactions from political parties all across the political spectrum. Coalition partners largely welcomed this decision, while opposition parties mostly still favour the increasingly unlikely option of a snap election.

Ljubljana – The ruling Democratic Party (SDS) has recorded a rise in its support ratings of almost four percentage points compared to September, while President Borut Pahor’s popularity has comprehensively declined, shows the latest poll commissioned by the commercial broadcaster POP TV.

Ljubljana – The parliamentary Home Policy Committee voted down late on Friday evening a motion by the centre-left opposition calling for a snap election. The emergency session, which lasted for more than nine hours, discussed the situation in the country. The government finds the motion to be unwarranted.

Ljubljana – After the council of the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) adopted a resolution yesterday denying the government any further support, the party’s MPs said they were planning to continue with the same course of action as so far where they agree what their vote will be on each legislative proposal on a case-by-case basis.

Ljubljana – The parliamentary Culture Committee reviewed the report of the Broadcasting Council for the past year at a session on Monday, including the council’s recommendation to set down sanctions for fake news in a law. Some of the participants in the debate maintained that would be in contravention of the freedom of speech.

Ljubljana – Speaker Igor Zorčič will not call a plenary session to debate the opposition Left’s party programme after the coalition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) requested this last week, arguing the programme contained elements suggesting the Left could act against the country’s constitutional order.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly passed in a unanimous vote on Friday amendments to the penal code that redefine sexual consent in line with the concept that only yes means yes. MPs said during the debate that the credit should go to NGOs, which mobilised the public to create a genuine social movement.