Slovenia election pits liberals against populist right in tight race

LJUBLJANA, March 19 - Slovenia holds a parliamentary election on Sunday in which liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob will face off against pro-Donald Trump populist Janez Jansa after a combative campaign marred by accusations of foreign meddling and government graft. Read more at straitstimes.com.

LJUBLJANA, March 19 - Slovenia holds a parliamentary election on Sunday in which liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob will face off against pro-Donald Trump populist Janez Jansa after a combative campaign marred by accusations of foreign meddling and government graft.

Opinion polls vary but analysts predict a tight race between Jansa's Slovene Democratic Party (SDS) and Golob's Freedom Movement (GS), with neither looking likely to win a majority in the 90-seat parliament. The outcome may be determined by smaller coalition partners.

At stake is the domestic and foreign agenda of the European Union and NATO member state of 2 million people, which gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Under Golob, Slovenia was one of the few European countries to recognise an independent Palestinian state and last year imposed an arms embargo on Israel amid its Gaza bombing campaign. That policy would likely change under pro-Israel former prime minister Jansa, who is an ally of Hungary's veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban.

Jansa has promised to overhaul Golob's domestic agenda by introducing tax breaks for businesses and cutting funding for civil society, welfare and media.

"These are ... perhaps the most important elections ever in Slovenia because they will decide if Slovenia remains a democratic welfare state or it aligns with illiberal democracies," said Robert Botteri, a long-time editor at the Mladina weekly.