How Slovenia's parliament unexpectedly elected a pro-Russian speaker
The newly elected speaker of Slovenia’s National Assembly (parliament), Zoran Stevanović, has said he plans to visit Moscow soon.
He also supports the gradual lifting of anti-Russian sanctions and holding a referendum on Slovenia’s withdrawal from NATO.
The election of the leader of the far-right and pro-Russian party Resni.ca as speaker means Slovenia is one step away from a change of power and the possible return of Janez Janša as prime minister.
Read more about the political situation in Slovenia after the elections and the chances of the country maintaining its pro-Ukrainian course in the article by Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda's editor: Has Slovenia tilted towards Moscow? Why the country’s parliament is now led by an outspoken friend of Russia.
On 22 March, Slovenia held regular parliamentary elections.
They were expected to bring a change of power. For a long time, pollsters had recorded the leadership of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) headed by former prime minister Janez Janša.
However, a scandal involving the wiretapping of his opponents from the Freedom Movement of current Prime Minister Robert Golob, which erupted on the eve of the elections, changed the course of the race.
The ruling party accused Janša of spying, allegedly involving a foreign, Israeli, private intelligence company, Black Cube.
Thus, the 22 March vote produced a sensation – contrary to expectations, the party of the incumbent prime minister took first place, albeit with only a minimal lead over the SDS.
Following the elections, the winning party, and especially its coalition partners, significantly worsened their results and could not form a majority without new allies.
During the election of the parliamentary speaker, it became clear that a majority could instead be formed by Janez Janša with the participation of "friends of Putin".
On 10 April, lawmakers elected a new speaker by secret ballot – far-right populist Zoran Stevanović.
Although the vote was secret, such a result could only have been achieved if, in addition to the five votes from Stevanović’s party, deputies from Janša’s SDS (28), the New Slovenia – Christian Democrats bloc (9) and the Democrats party (6) also supported him.
The situational alliance of Janez Janša, who positions himself as a friend of Ukraine, with Stevanović’s pro-Russian Resni.ca party should not be surprising.
It should be remembered that for political expediency, Janša has previously taken steps that contradicted his views.
Another question is whether the smallest coalition partner will be able to influence the course of a potential government. There is also speculation about forming a right-wing minority government without Resni.ca in exchange for the speaker’s post, they would only support Janša’s appointment.
Such a scenario somewhat reduces the risks of a turn towards Russia, but does not eliminate them entirely.
At the very least, the situation means that the new Slovenian speaker will actively promote Russian narratives, undermining European unity.
Moreover, the effective "golden share" that Resni.ca would hold could encourage them to pressure the new government to adjust foreign policy.
However, the controversial statements of the newly elected speaker about visiting Moscow could have the opposite effect.
Prime Minister Robert Golob said he is not stopping coalition negotiations and still hopes to win over the center-right Democrats party and its leader Anže Logar.
Observers suggest that a coalition with the center-left Golob may be more natural for Logar than one with Janša.
In addition, Zoran Stevanović’s statements increase the likelihood of this scenario, as they show that a Janša government could be highly unstable and dependent on populists.