Janša

Ljubljana – Slovenian voters will head to the polls on Sunday in an election that analysts say will determine whether Slovenia continues on the conservative path paved by the Janez Janša government over the last two years, or takes a more leftist turn under newcomer Robert Golob and parties that are currently in opposition. Polls show everything is still open.

Ljubljana – The opposition Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) has drafted motions of no-confidence in the environment and justice ministers, Andrej Vizjak and Marjan Dikaučič, and has already shared them with fellow opposition deputy groups. The announcement comes a day after the SocDems (SD) announced a similar motion against the education minister.

As head of a minority coalition (currently supported in parliament by part of the opposition), Jansa is taking advantage of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming EU presidency to maintain his grip on power.

He left the coalition Party of the Democratic Center (SMC) due to disagreements with the government and founded his own independent parliamentary club. Like last month's vote, the ruling party lacked one vote to remove it.
45 deputies voted for the removal, one less than the majority, two ballots were invalid, while the opposition parties left the hall before the vote.

Jansa might use the disclaimer 'retweets are not endorsements', but politicians like him "use fake profiles as a proxy," said Strok, "to spread information or words that they know would put them in more trouble if they tweeted it themselves."

"He retweets more than 100 tweets a day," Strok said. "Of course they're endorsements."

Trump tactics

"When retaliation begins in the form of discrediting, verbal attacks, physical threats or violence, harassment, pressure at work, job loss, cyber-bullying, slander… it is extremely difficult to combat all that," he said. "The opponent is almost always financially stronger and better organised."

Court corroboration

Certain members of the ruling coalition parties and (formal) opposition parties chose not to support Karel Erjavec as the new prime minister.

Erjavec thus received only 40 of the 46 votes he needed. Having survived the no-confidence vote, Jansa can now continue disassembling state institutions and dealing with anyone critical of his government.

Under his authoritarian rule, he has dismantled state institutions, made brutal staffing turnovers and insulted journalists.  In recent days, he has been especially keen on quarrelling with foreign diplomats and politicians on Twitter.

Ljubljana – Two coalition parties and the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) have tabled a bill that would redraw some electoral districts in line with a 2018 Constitutional Court decision, after a rival opposition-sponsored bill that would have abolished districts altogether failed to garner the required two-thirds majority in the National Assembly last week.

To understand Jansa's war with the media, it is important to recognise that his political capital rests on the ideological basis of nationalism, which substantiates national sovereignty by the principle of ethnicity.

A man looks at Slovenian newspapers. Photo: EPA/IGOR KUPLJENIK