Slovenians vote in tight race between liberals and populist right
LJUBLJANA, March 22 (Reuters) - Slovenians will choose between incumbent liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob and right-wing populist Janez Jansa on Sunday, with neither looking likely to win a parliamentary majority in the vote, which could be decided by smaller coalition partners.
Latest opinion polls confirm pro-Donald Trump Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and Golob's Freedom Movement (GS) are set for a close race after an eleventh hour campaign drama involving allegations of foreign meddling and graft.
Analysts say Jansa, who is seeking a fourth term as premier of the European Union and NATO member state of 2 million people, has a devoted voters base and the lower the turnout, the higher the chances of him winning the election.
At stake is the domestic and foreign agenda of Slovenia, where the outgoing government had focused on social and health reforms but delivered mixedresults, resulting in a fall in popularity for Golob's governing coalition.
Jansa has promised to introduce tax breaks for businesses and cut funding for civil society, welfare and media.
Slovenia, an Alpine country with a developed industrial base, emerged stronger from the collapse of Yugoslavia than other states such as Serbia or Bosnia, which have been held back by war, economic sanctions and political infighting.
Pro-Israeli Jansa, who is an ally of Hungary's veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban, would also likely change Golob's foreign policy under which Slovenia was one of the few European countries that recognised an independent Palestinian state and last year imposed an arms embargo on Israel.
DIRTY CAMPAIGN, GRAFT ALLEGATIONS, FOREIGN MEDDLING FEARS
The election campaign, which observers described as dirty from the start with dead animals hung from GS election posters, heated up this month when covert videos were published on an anonymous website purportedly exposing government corruption.
Golob denies any wrongdoing.
A report this week alleged that Jansa met with officials from Israeli private spy firm Black Cube, which LinkedIn alleged in 2023 was behind a hidden camera campaign that targeted activists and journalists in the lead up to Hungary's 2022 vote.
Jansa saidthat he met with a Black Cube adviser, but denied any wrongdoing. Black Cube did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Golob has briefed European Commission officials on threats to the democratic process in Slovenia and requested an investigation into reports of foreign interference in the vote.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Alexander Smith)
