Name: Slovenia elects a new parliament on March 22: What's at stake? | DW News
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Slovenia is heading to the polls to elect a new parliament on March 22 in an election that could have an impact far beyond its borders.

Located in Central Europe and bordered by Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy, Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991.

With a population of about 2 million, it is one of the smallest member states of both the European Union and NATO.

On Sunday, voters will decide who will lead the country for the next four years.

In addition, the outcome will determine what role Slovenia will play in European politics.

Since 2022, the country has been ruled by a liberal coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Golob of the Freedom Movement Party.

But Golob's government is now facing strong competition for from the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party, led by veteran politician Jannes Jansa.

Janca is one of Slovenia's most influential and controversial political figures and has already served three times as prime minister.

Supporters see him as a strong conservative leader who seeks to strengthen national sovereignty.

Critics, however, say that his political style resembles that of Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban Czechia as Andrey Babi, or Slovakia as Robert Fico, especially in the way he targets the media and political opponents.

How do the two main parties differ on some of the main issues in this election?

Golob had quite a specific stand on Gaza and the war in the Middle East.

So they were supporting the Palestinians from the beginning.

And it was also partly because of the public opinion, left leaning public opinion, especially in the urban centers which went really pro Palestinian, like in Spain or in Ireland.

Mr. Jansha has a completely different standpoint here.

He has a relationship with Mr. Netanyahu too.

So that's really a big, a big difference.

Not such a big difference is when it comes to Ukraine.

The Slovenian left and right are supporting heavily Ukraine, but

have perhaps a little bit different opinion on how to deal with Russia, especially when it comes to, let's say, probable negotiations for the war to stop.

Trump are the big issues where both blocs are completely different positions.

With only days to go until the election, some polls give SDS a comfortable lead, while others predict a GS victory.

Experts, however, say it's too close to call.

However, even if SDS does come out on top, it might have difficulty forming a government as several parties have refused to enter a coalition with Yansha.

Several scandals surrounding Prime Minister Robert Golub in recent years have contributed to a rise in support for Jansha's sds.

These scandals included accusations of corruption against the prime minister and a controversial law that was criticised for potentially targeting Roma communities.

Every EU member state has a seat on the European Council, the institution where national leaders make decisions on key issues such as sanctions, migration or security.

Experts say that if Jansha returns to power, Slovenia could move closer to leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban, potentially changing political alliances within the eu.

I don't want somebody who doesn't respect, like the basic human rights and I think environmental issues are very important, but

also that you don't do everything so extremely that you hurt the economy too much.

I personally am just looking for which party will try to balance everything a little bit, but

For me, I think it's also important that, yes, we stay true to our roots, that Slovenia will still stay Slovenian.

And also one thing that is important to me is that we focus on decentralization of Slovenia, that also countryside is important and.

And that we focus on the farmers so that we could have our local food and that we don't import so many foods.

So although this election is first and foremost about determining the country's direction for the next four years, the stakes are higher than that, because in the European Union, even a country of 2 million people can influence decisions that shape the politics of the entire bloc.