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SLOVENIA-POLITICS-ELECTION-PROFILE
Main players in Slovenia’s snap election
LJUBLJANA, May 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Slovenians go to the polls on Sunday in
an early parliamentary election called after months of political wrangling
and the dramatic resignation of Prime Minister Miro Cerar in March.
Cerar has been eclipsed by two other main candidates in the run-up to the
vote in Slovenia, an Alpine country of two million people which was the first
ex-Yugoslav state to join the European Union in 2004 and adopted the euro in
2007.
– Janez Jansa, the veteran –
A long-time leader of the centre-right opposition, Janez Jansa, 59, is
known for his crowd-pleasing rhetoric and combative presence on Twitter,
where he attacks opponents and established media alike, echoing the tactics
of right-wing populists abroad.
He’s also a former prime minister and polls suggest his anti-migrant
Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) will likely emerge as the largest party in
Sunday’s vote.
Commanding a parliamentary majority may be more challenging, as most other
parties have ruled out working with him.
However, Jansa says he is confident that “phones will start ringing after
the results come in”.
His career has already seen a fair share of drama. In 2013, only a year
into his second term as prime minister, he was forced out by a corruption
scandal.
He was given a two-year jail sentence for a bribery conviction and in
parliamentary elections in 2014 he ran as the SDS candidate for prime
minister from his cell in Dob prison near Ljubljana.
That conviction was later overturned by the Constitutional Court. It
ordered a retrial which couldn’t take place as too much time had elapsed.
Jansa then demanded 900,000 euros ($1.4 million) in compensation from the
state for having lost the 2014 elections.
MORE/MR/ 1029 hrs
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Like his close ally Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Jansa is a
veteran of the pro-democracy movements that brought about the collapse of
communism and often accuses the old communist elite of exerting malign
influence from the shadows.
– Marjan Sarec, the newcomer –
Marjan Sarec, 40, was best known in Slovenia as a comedian and political
satirist before launching himself as an “anti-system” politician.
In 2010 he won a surprise victory for mayor in the northern town of Kamnik
on a left-leaning programme.
However, he began to tire of the limits placed on local authorities by the
central government and in 2017 ran for president to advance his agenda.
After his narrow defeat to incumbent Borut Pahor, Sarec announced his LMS
party would run for parliament.
“We’ve started work on many issues and I’m not the sort of man to sulk at
home with his arms crossed and just complain,” he said.
LMS surged in the polls after the announcement, and despite losing ground
since then it is still projected to come second on Sunday, which would leave
Sarec well placed to play kingmaker.
Sarec has been criticised for lacking a clear programme but recently told
AFP that his party “has many things in common with (French President
Emmanuel) Macron’s position, a sensible, centrist orientation”.
He has ruled out working with Jansa, sharply criticising his anti-migrant
rhetoric and closeness to Hungary’s Orban.
Since his entry into politics, Sarec has rarely made public use of his
gifts as a comedian, instead cultivating an image of a down-to-earth Catholic
family man, who prefers to spend his free time tending to his farm.
– Miro Cerar, the incumbent –
Outgoing 54-year-old Prime Minister Miro Cerar was a respected professor
and regarded as an eminent authority on constitutional law before his entry
into politics and surprise victory in 2014 elections.
His somewhat uptight public persona, and frequent complaints over the
behaviour of his coalition partners, led some satirists to christen him
“Cmerar” (cry-baby).
But Cerar claims to have restored stability in Slovenia, and under his
tenure the economy has recovered after being on the brink of needing a
eurozone bailout in 2013.
Nevertheless, the last months of his government were marked by increasing
tension among his coalition partners and he resigned a few months before his
term was due to end in July.
Cerar wants back in to win a stronger mandate this time, but his Modern
Centre Party (SMC) has been lagging in the polls. His appeal as an outsider
evaporated as soon as he went into coalition with established centre-left
parties, says political analyst Matevz Tomsic.
“His party has no chance of playing an important role in forming the next
government,” Tomsic told AFP.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1029 hrs