00:00Slovenia is heading to the polls to elect a new parliament on March 22 in an election that could have
00:06an impact far beyond its borders.
00:09Located in Central Europe and bordered by Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy, Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on June 25,
00:181991.
00:20With a population of about 2 million, it is one of the smallest member states of both the European Union
00:26and NATO.
00:26On Sunday, voters will decide who will lead the country for the next four years.
00:32In addition, the outcome will determine what role Slovenia will play in European politics.
00:40Since 2022, the country has been ruled by a liberal coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Golob of the Freedom
00:48Movement Party .
00:49But Golob's government is now facing strong competition from the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party , led by veteran politician Janez
00:59Janssa.
01:00Janssa is one of Slovenia's most influential and controversial political figures and has already served three times as Prime Minister.
01:07Supporters see him as a strong conservative leader who seeks to strengthen national sovereignty.
01:13Critics, however, say that his political style resembles that of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Czechia's Andrei Babiš or Slovakia's
01:23Robert Fito,
01:24especially in the way he targets the media and political opponents.
01:27How do the two main parties differ on some of the main issues in this election?
01:32The present government of Mr. Golob had quite a specific stand on Gaza and the war in the Middle East.
01:42So they were supporting the Palestinians from the beginning.
01:45It was also partly because of the public opinion, left-leaning public opinion, especially in the urban centers,
01:52which went really pro-Palestinian, like in Spain or in Ireland.
02:00Mr. Janssa has a completely different standpoint here.
02:03He's supporting Israel.
02:04He has a relationship with Mr. Netanyahu too.
02:08So that's really a big difference.
02:12Not such a big difference is when it comes to Ukraine.
02:16The Slovenian left and right are supporting heavily Ukraine,
02:21but have perhaps a little bit different opinion on how to deal with Russia,
02:28especially when it comes to, let's say, problem negotiations for the war to stop.
02:36But of course, Gaza and also Mr. Trump are the big issues
02:45where both blocs are completely different positions.
02:51With only days to go until the election,
02:54some polls give SDS a comfortable lead while others predict a GS victory.
03:00Experts, however, say it's too close to call.
03:03However, even if SDS does come out on top,
03:06it might have difficulty forming a government
03:09as several parties have refused to enter a coalition with Janssa.
03:13Several scandals surrounding Prime Minister Robert Golob in recent years
03:17have contributed to a rise in support for Janssa's SDS.
03:20These scandals included accusations of corruption against the Prime Minister
03:25and a controversial law that was criticised for potentially targeting Roma communities.
03:32Every EU member state has a seat on the European Council,
03:36the institution where national leaders make decisions on key issues
03:40such as sanctions, migration or security.
03:43Some votes require unanimity.
03:45Experts say that if Janssa returns to power,
03:49Slovenia could move closer to leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban
03:52potentially changing political alliances within the EU.
03:58I don't want somebody who doesn't respect the basic human rights
04:02and I think environmental issues are very important
04:06but also that you don't do everything so extremely that you hurt the economy too much.
04:13I personally am just looking for which party will try to balance everything a little bit,
04:19but will still be good on the social issues.
04:23For me, I think it's also important that we stay true to our roots,
04:30that Slovenia will still stay Slovenian.
04:33And also one thing that is important to me is that we focus on decentralization of Slovenia,
04:44like that also countryside is important and that we focus on like the farmers
04:51so that we could have our local food and that we don't import so many foods.
04:58So although this election is first and foremost about determining the country's direction
05:03for the next four years, the stakes are higher than that
05:06because in the European Union even a country of two million people can influence decisions
05:11that shape the politics of the entire bloc.
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