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In the last ten years, Borut Pahor has topped the polls of popular politicians in Slovenia. A true politician, he is the only person in Slovenia who has held all the highest positions in the country: Pahor has served not only as president, but also as speaker of parliament (2000–2004) and prime minister (2008). –2012). He has also been a member of the European Parliament.
However, his experience is not the only thing that made him popular with voters: Pahor was also one of the first Slovenian politicians to gain influence on social media. His Instagram account features photos of his meetings with a host of celebrities from Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Francis to supermodel Naomi Campbell and Slovenian basketball star Luka Doncic.
In fact, Borut Pahor is so active on the photo-sharing platform that Politico named him “Europe’s Instagram President” in 2017. But now, after ten years in the presidential palace, he is He was ready to submit to his successor. Slovenians will go to the polls on Sunday, November 13 to elect a new president in an election between Anze Logar and Natasa Pirc Musar.
Logar before and after the first round
Anze Logar, a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), won the first round of the presidential election on October 23 with 34% of all votes cast. Lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar came in second, collecting 27% of the votes.
An opinion poll on November 6 organized by Valicon for the Slovenian public broadcaster RTV Slovenia showed that this issue could be changed on the fly. According to the poll, Pirc Musar is closer to winning the second round than Logar. Yes, he is predicted to win with 56% of the votes.
Pirc Musar is believed to be the country’s first female president
“Until now, no candidate from the right has won the presidential election, and this can be said because the electoral district of our country has slightly shifted to the left,” he said. Meta Roglic, Slovenian political analyst and journalist from the news portal. N1info, told DW.
Aljaz Pengov Bitenc, another Slovenian political analyst, also believes that Natasa Pirc Musar has a good chance of becoming the first female president in Slovenia’s history. However, he also warns that “the advantage he has for Logar will be lost if the electorate is low.”
According to Pengov Bitenc, there is a risk of “election fatigue” due to the number of votes that will arise this fall in Slovenia. In the coming months, Slovenian voters will go to the polls again in three separate elections as well as local elections in several cities across the country.
Two independent candidates
Both presidential candidates are running independently. Both submitted their candidates based on the signatures of voters and were not official candidates of any political party.
But for many, it is difficult to see Anze Logar as an independent candidate. After all, he is not a long-term member of the SDS, he has been the chairman of the council of the party, a minister of foreign countries in the last government of the former Prime Minister Janez Jansa, a right-wing populist. close friend of Hungary’s right-wing leader Viktor Orban.
Meta Roglic believes that Anze Logar will be approved in the elections of SDS voters, who are the most legitimate part of the electorate. Logar also has support from the Christian Democrats (NSi). So why is he not the official candidate of his party? Roglic is sure that Logar is well aware that the clear support of the SDS will jeopardize the chances of gaining support from the middle class voters.
Special, but not too special?
Aljaz Pengov Bitenc believes that Anze Logar’s biggest mistake this time is to avoid answering questions about his attitude to his own party and the activities of the Jansa government, which he participated in. : “By not absolving himself from all this, or apologizing, he cast doubt upon his independence.”
According to Meta Roglic “Janez Jansa hates Anze Logar. The more Janez Jansa advertises himself, the more Jansa will turn among the voters to the left.”
But this did not stop Jansa: The former Prime Minister strongly supported Logar and called the flight a clash between the values of the independence of Slovenia and the constitution on the one hand and the values of the taxes on one side.
Former data protection chief
Janez Jansa “tax units” were sent to another candidate in the election, a qualified lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar, the former head of the data protection authority of Slovenia. Claims emerged during the election that Pirc Musar and her husband had funneled money into tax havens.
Although Pirc Musar is not a member of any political party, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob of the green Freedom Movement is supporting him in the second round. Golob said that the SDS candidate should not enter the presidential palace, because Slovenia would return to the “dark times” of the last two years under Janez Jansa.
Questions about financial transactions
During her campaign, Natasa Pirc Musar was the target of accusations about her husband’s business. His biggest mistake, believes Aljaz Pengov Bitenc, is the sudden way he answered the questions on this topic.
“It’s not that the facts were a problem, but he didn’t know how to answer them in a way that didn’t raise questions.”
The position of candidates for Europe
Of the two candidates, Anze Logar has more diplomatic experience. “So maybe he will try to use this advantage to hide his current hostility towards the countries of the Visegrad Group, especially Hungary,” said Aljaz Pengov Bitenc. When asked about his international goals, Logar says that he is the main supporter of “main Europe.”
Natasa Pirc Musar also has extensive international experience: For 15 years, she worked as a human rights expert with the Council of Europe. He also said that he would like Slovenia to join “core Europe,” especially with countries that believe in human rights, solidarity and legal values.
“He may not be looking for his own foreign policy, but he will definitely coordinate his work with the government of Robert Golob,” said Aljaz Pengov Bitenc.
Depending on who wins the election, the result could be seen to favor the incumbent green prime minister or his right-wing populist predecessor.
Edited by Rüdiger Rossig and Aingeal Flanagan
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