With 30.65% and four MEPs elected (Romana Tomc, Milan Zver, Branko Grims and Zala Tomašič), the party of former national-conservative prime minister Janez Janša, the Slovenska demokratska stranka (Sds), managed to obtain the block of votes more consistently, thus confirming the polls that had him in the lead since last October. Two more seats in the European Parliament compared to the previous elections, therefore, for the formation belonging to the European People’s Party (EPP) which is among the closest to the positions of the Hungarian Viktor Orbán.
With a difference of just over 40 thousand votes and 22.15%, the centre-left party of the current Prime Minister Robert Golob, Gibanje svoboda (GS), came second, electing two of its representatives (Irena Joveva and the former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec) among the ranks of the liberal European group Renew Europe. Therefore, not even recognizing the Palestinian state was enough to undermine Janša’s advantage. But the real surprise was the exploit of Vesna, the new environmentalist party which, with 10.53% of the votes, placed itself in third position, electing its own MEP (Vladimir Prebilič).
It was in the balance until the end, but the Social Democratic (SD) candidate and outgoing MEP from Nova Gorica, Matjaž Nemec, also made it (7.72%). The latter will be the only Slovenian member of the European Parliament belonging to the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D): one less than in the previous legislature.
Finally, with 7.66%, the centre-right Christian Democrats of New Slovenia also managed to send one of their representatives to Strasbourg, bringing the package of Slovenian MEPs registered with the EPP of the outgoing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to five. However, the Slovenian People’s Party (7.23%), the Left (4.75%), Resni.ca (3.97%), DeSUS (2.21%), and the Slovenian Greens (1.59%) remain outside. and Nič od tega (1.53%).
This is therefore the composition of the nine seats out of 720 held by Slovenia in the European Parliament. An election which recorded a turnout of 41.34% of eligible voters (698,559 out of 1,689,586), which, although considered very low, represents a significant leap forward without precedent in the last twenty years, since Slovenia joined the European Union. In 2019 the turnout was 28.89%, while the negative record was recorded in 2014 with 24.55%.
The victory of the Yes vote in the referendum
According to Golob, “the turnout figure alone represents a victory: citizens have understood the importance of referendums.” This electoral round will in fact be remembered above all for the historic outcome of the four consultative referendums promoted by the government. On this front the four “yes” received – respectively, for the legalization of euthanasia (54.72% in favor, 45.28% against), for the introduction of preferences in the electoral law for political affairs (70.60% in favor, 29.40% against), for the cultivation and use of cannabis in medicine (66.49% in favor and 33.51% against) and for recreational use (51.60% yes, 48.40% no) – constitute a success for Golob.
His party had in fact strongly promoted and supported all four questions, even leading to some rifts with its government allies. In particular, with the Social Democrats, who would have preferred to concentrate the electoral campaign exclusively on the most relevant issues for the European elections. Tonight’s result, despite a very low turnout – just over 30% – certainly places the small Central European republic among the most progressive countries on the continent.
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