Elections in Slovenia, a perfect portrait of Europe

Translated by Martina Ravasi

Although the results of Parliamentary elections in Slovenia are clear in terms of numbers, they lead to uncertain political consequences. Indeed, the Liberal Party, led by Robert Golob, won the elections that took place on March 22nd, 2026. Nevertheless, their narrow margin of advantage over the Nationalists, led by Janez Janša, opens a new phase of political instability and tough negotiations.

According to results, Golob’s Freedom Movement (Gibanje Svoboda) took about 28.6% of votes, thus obtaining a few seats more than Janša’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), which obtained around 28% of votes. This narrow difference has a perfect balance in Parliament. Around 29 seats are given to the Liberals and 28 to the right-wig. Of course, there is no denying that such a distribution of seats isn’t enough to ensure governability. Indeed, the Slovenian political system requires a majority of at least 46 seats to create a government. This achievement is still far away from being reached by both parties in an extremely fragmented Parliament, which is composed of seven political forces. This fragmentation makes the role of small parties decisive, since they hold the balance during negotiations for the creation of the future government of the country.

The electoral campaign was one of the tensest in the last few years. The confrontation between Golob and Janša embodied two opposite visions about the future of Slovenia. On one hand, we have a pro-European and progressist position, opting for cooperating with the European Union. On the other hand, we have a more nationalist and conservative position, in line with other Eurosceptic leaderships in Eastern Europe. There were hard confrontations, mutual accusations and complaints about potential external interferences. All these elements further contributed to polarize the electorate. Indeed, the outcome is a portrait of a deeply divided Slovenia. On one hand, there’s a mainly liberal young urban electorate, and on the other hand we have a more conservative one - which is concentrated in the internal rural areas of the country, and they support Janša’s right-wig. This division risks affecting the post-electoral phase too, thus making a stable majority harder to be established.

At this stage, a delicate phase will begin. Indeed, the President of the Republic will start consultations aimed to find a possible candidate who will be charged of the creation of a new government. However, negotiations between all parties will determinate a real balance. Social Democrats, radical left forces, Christian conservatives and new centrist movements may play a pivotal role in choosing whether to support a coalition led by Golob or, alternatively, to ally themselves with Janša. There is also the possibility of a Liberal-led coalition looking for support from centre-left parties in order to remain in office. Nevertheless, programmatic divergences and tensions that came up during the electoral campaign make a quick agreement far away from being taken for granted. At the same time, a prolonged impasse or the creation of an unstable government constantly exposed to Parliamentary pressions are not to be excluded.

Therefore, 2026 elections are a crucial point for Slovenia. Indeed, instead of having a clear winner, the elections underlined the difficulties of the Slovenian political system in creating stable majorities. In the next days, the focus will move from voters to negotiations, which will decide the political future of the country as well as the posture that Slovenia will adopt in the years to come.

Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ®2026