Janez Janša

Ljubljana – Interior Ministry State Secretary Anton Olaj was relieved of his duties as state secretary and appointed the new police commissioner. He will take over for five years on Friday, the Government Communication Office said after the government session on Thursday.

Ljubljana – Defence Minister Matej Tonin is to temporarily take over the role of health minister from Prime Minister Janez Janša on Monday, the news portal 24ur.com reported on Wednesday, quoting unofficial information. Tonin reportedly already informed his closest team in the New Slovenia (NSi) party of this.

Ljubljana – The first case of the highly transmissible UK coronavirus variant has been officially confirmed in Slovenia in a Kosovo national with temporary residence in Slovenia who arrived from Belgium, Prime Minister Janez Janša announced on Sunday.

Ljubljana – Four opposition parties have filed a motion to oust Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Minister Janez Cigler Kralj over his work during the epidemic and the ministry’s decision to grant funds to an NGO with close links to the minister. They need 46 votes in the 90-member National Assembly to succeed.

Ljubljana – Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Janša announced late Wednesday evening that he had sent congratulations to the newly sworn-in US President Joseph Biden.

Brdo pri Kranju – Nine of Slovenia’s twelve statistical regions will enter the red tier of coronavirus restrictions on Monday after new cases and hospital figures dropped below thresholds set in the exit strategy, the government decided on Wednesday.

Ljubljana – Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) leader Karl Erjavec has withdrawn his bid to become PM-designate until all MPs are able to vote in person, after an opposition MP was confirmed to have the coronavirus and several others still waited for the results of their tests.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša thinks a hard lockdown that would involve limiting people’s movement to within a certain radius around their home may not be necessary. “Due in particular to the introduction of rapid testing, it will be possible to weather the January-February wave without the most drastic measures,” he told Planet TV.

Ljubljana – An informal coalition of centre-left opposition parties has filed a motion of no confidence in the Janez Janša government with the backing of 42 of the 90 deputies of the National Assembly. The crux of their argument is the government’s failure to cope with the coronavirus epidemic.

Ljubljana – The furlough scheme, a measure aimed at preventing lay-offs due to the Covid-19 epidemic, which was to expire at the end of the month, will be extended with the eighth stimulus package at least until the end of April, Prime Minister Janez Janša tweeted before today’s cabinet session dedicated to the epidemiological situation.