Janez

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša said the government would “not cave to pressure” after Zoran Stevanović, the leader of the protests against the Covid pass mandate, called on the government to resign or face new protests, including a blockade of the upcoming EU-Western Balkans summit. He called on the competent authorities to take action.

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor will receive German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brdo pri Kranju on Tuesday to confer on her the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service, Slovenia’s top honour, Pahor’s office said on Sunday.

Ljubljana – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs told commercial broadcaster POP TV on Sunday that the possibility of an early election was completely justified. The ruling Democrats (SDS) are discussing this possibility a lot, he said, adding that going to the polls a few months earlier would make no difference as the government was practically at the end of its term.

Ljubljana – A group of several thousand protesters again gathered in Ljubljana on Wednesday to protest against the Covid pass mandate in what was the third such protest. Starting in Republic Square, the rally moved to the ring road, which was closed for a while, as the police tried to break up the crowd, including by using a water canon.

Ljubljana – The senior coalition Democrats (SDS) filed a request on Wednesday for an emergency session of the parliamentary interior affairs and justice committees to discuss the duties of law enforcement in the protection of the legal order and democratic postulates in the face of recent unannounced protests.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša will be on a working visit to the UK on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. A number of bilateral and international issues will be on the agenda.

Trbovlje – The restructuring of what used to be Slovenia’s most mining-heavy region is expected to top the agenda as the government tours Zasavje in central Slovenia on Tuesday. The region is one of the two that can expect funds from the EU’s Just Transition Fund.

Ljubljana – Preparations for the general election are under way on several fronts in Slovenia, the newspaper Dnevnik says on Saturday. While the crème de la crème of the Slovenian centre-right parties are forming an alliance under the wing of the Modern Centre Party (SMC), the question arises what is happening in the left pole.

Ljubljana – The top bodies of three of the four centre-left opposition parties which have finalised an agreement on post-election cooperation unanimously endorsed the document at their respective sessions on Saturday, while the fourth party did so earlier this week.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša appeared on Friday at the session of the parliamentary inquiry commission dealing with the government’s response to the Covid-19 epidemic. He was critical in his testimony of the preparedness of the public health authorities and noted the systemic problems in elderly care inherited by his government.