On Sunday, former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa's anti-immigration Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) got the most votes in national elections, drawing about 25 percent of the vote for 25 of the 90 seats in parliament. In second place was the center-left Marjan Sarec List (LMS) party, with 12.7 percent. LMS, contesting its first national election, is led by comedian and satirist Marjan Sarec, who calls his party anti-establishment. The only party that has said it would form a governing coalition with the SDS is the center-right Nova Slovenija party, which took 7.1 percent of the vote for seven seats.
Elections were called in March after center-left Prime Minister Miro Cerar stepped down after the Supreme Court ruled against his railway investment project and amid strikes. Jansa counts himself an admirer of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary, who rose to power on a stridently anti-immigrant platform. It isn't clear that immigration was a major factor in the SDS's qualified success.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump says 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico start Feb. 1Speed Read The tariffs imposed on America's neighbors could drive up US prices and invite retaliation
-
Trump blames diversity, Democrats for DC air tragedySpeed Read The president suggested that efforts to recruit more diverse air traffic controllers contributed to the deadly air crash
-
White House withdraws Trump's spending freezeSpeed Read President Donald Trump's budget office has rescinded a directive that froze trillions of dollars in federal aid and sowed bipartisan chaos
-
OpenAI announces ChatGPT Gov for government useSpeed Read The artificial intelligence research company has launched a new version of its chatbot tailored for the US government
-
Caroline Kennedy urges Senate to reject RFK Jr.Speed Read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin said he should not become President Donald Trump's health secretary, calling his medical views 'dangerous'
-
GOP senator reneged on voting against HegsethSpeed Read North Carolina senator Thom Tillis provided the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
-
Trump sparks chaos with spending, aid freezesSpeed Read A sudden freeze on federal grants and loans by President Donald Trump's administration has created widespread confusion
-
Trump feuds with Colombia on deportee flightsSpeed Read Colombia has backed off from a trade war with the U.S., reaching an agreement on accepting deported migrants following tariff threats from President Donald Trump
