Slovenia votes in tight polls, with conservatives eyeing comeback

Slovenians were voting on Sunday in tight parliamentary elections, with the conservatives of veteran politician Janez Jansa, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, eyeing a comeback.

A Jansa return could see the ex-Yugoslav nation, a European Union member of two million people, take an illiberal turn again after four years of centre-left rule under liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob.

Foreign interference claims have shaken the campaign, with authorities probing whether an Israeli company was behind secretly recorded videos suggesting alleged graft in Golob's government.

"These elections are important," Petra Kladnik, a 40-year-old lawyer, told AFP at a polling station in the capital, Ljubljana.

She added the video scandal "had a strong impact on the community but not on my decision today".

Jansa's conservatives long polled ahead of Golob's liberals, but the gap has recently closed, with the two parties running neck-and-neck in fresh opinion polls ahead of the vote.

Under Golob, a political newcomer when he took over from Jansa in 2022, Slovenia legalised same-sex marriage and became one of the few EU countries to describe Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide".

- 'Change necessary' - 

Voting stations opened at 7:00 am local time (0600 GMT) and will close at 7:00 pm, with exit polls released just after the closure.

"I expect a change of the government, it's really necessary. There have been many empty promises," Tine Maher, 30, an AI and IT entrepreneur, told AFP after casting his ballot in Ljubljana.

Pensioner Anica Vranjak said she hoped for "a right-wing government".

"I'm afraid for my pension," the voter in her early seventies told AFP in the village of Arnace, where Jansa also voted, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of the capital.

In his campaign, Jansa, 67, has accused Golob's government of squandering money as if it "grew on trees" and said the election is "a referendum on corruption".

He has also pledged to put Slovenians "at the forefront" and restore "Slovenian values" such as the "traditional family" and "close the pipe" of state money to NGOs deemed political parties.

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"Slovenian voters have the power of their vote in their hands only today. And if this power is not used, Slovenia will slide backwards instead of catching up with developed Europe," he told reporters after casting his vote.

The last government of the three-time premier -- an ally of nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- saw mass protests and EU criticism over rule-of-law concerns.

- 'Ugly' video scandal -

Golob, 59, also urged Slovenians to cast their ballots when he voted.

"Democracy and Slovenia's sovereignty cannot be taken for granted anymore," the former power company manager told reporters.

Ivana Prijatelj, a pensioner from Ljubljana, said she was "satisfied with how things are right now".

"Nothing is wrong now, at least for me," she told AFP at a polling station, adding she did not listen to the secretly recorded videos, saying the whole affair was "too ugly".

Golob this week asked the EU to probe alleged election interference following the publication of the videos.

Slovenian authorities are investigating whether Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube was behind the videos, which feature a Slovenian lobbyist, a lawyer and a former minister, among others.

The videos allegedly show the officials suggesting ways to influence decision makers in Golob's government to speed up procedures or win contracts.

A civil society group, together with an investigative journalist and two researchers, early this week accused Black Cube of being behind the videos and linked it to Jansa's party.

Jansa has admitted to having met a Black Cube official, but has denied being behind the videos.

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