SLOVENIA: Far-right party faces hurdles in forming parliament

Former Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa’s far-right anti-immigrant party won nearly double the seats than its closest opponent in parliamentary elections but faces major hurdles in forming a new government. Slovenian President Borut Pahor said he will offer Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDP) a mandate to form a government after his party won 25 out […]

Former Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa’s far-right anti-immigrant party won nearly double the seats than its closest opponent in parliamentary elections but faces major hurdles in forming a new government.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor said he will offer Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDP) a mandate to form a government after his party won 25 out of the 90 parliament seats up for grabs.

“I am not obliged to award the mandate to the relative winner of the election, but I will do so because I strongly believe in democracy,” Pahor was quoted in news reports as saying.

Jansa’s main opponent, Marjan Sarec, and his party won only 13 seats.

Analysts say Jansa faces difficulties in forming a new government because of accusations of radicalism, authoritarianism, and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

He is seen as a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban who is also known for promoting far-right policies.