Social Democrats

Ljubljana – Reporter says in its latest commentary that Marjan Šarec, the former prime minister, is trying to establish himself as the leading politician on the left while he is clinging on the brink of political relevance as he is far from his peak from four years ago, when he entered the political arena.

Ljubljana – The latest survey conducted by pollster Mediana for POP TV shows that the government enjoys an approval rating of 33%, while 58.8% disapproved of its work and 8.2% were undecided. Among political parties, the ruling Democrats (SDS) command a wide lead.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša’s presentation of Slovenia’s EU presidency priorities at the National Assembly on Monday elicited criticism from the centre-left opposition parties. Some described it as short on detail, others expressed doubt about whether the government can deliver.

Ljubljana – The Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) will hold a congress on Saturday to elect what will be its third leadership in a year and a half. Last December, after less than a year under Aleksandra Pivec, the party again elected its ex-boss Karl Erjavec, but he stepped down in March. There are three contenders now.

Ljubljana – The leader of the Social Democrats (SD) Tanja Fajon has proposed that four opposition parties forge a closer partnership, starting with a “partnership discussion” that would chart the way forward.

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 50:36 vote on Tuesday amendments to the act on road transport that create the legal basis for transportation platforms such as Uber or Lyft, changes that the government argues will facilitate the digitalisation of the transport sector.

Ljubljana – The National Assembly rejected in a 46:43 vote on Tuesday a proposal from the centre-left opposition for a consultative referendum on the government-sponsored bill on the national Demographic Fund.

The bill was adopted by the government last autumn and its passed a second reading in the National Assembly in March.

Ljubljana – Igor Zorčič remains speaker as only 45 MPs voted to dismiss him in a secret ballot Friday, one short of the needed majority, just like in the first attempt on 30 March after he quit the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC). Two ballots were invalid while no MP voted against as the centre-left opposition and unaffiliated MPs obstructed the vote.

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.