EPA
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
Slovenia will have a female head of state for the first time. In the second round of the presidential elections, lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar managed to overtake her rival with 54% of the vote, according to preliminary election results.
Liberal Musar, who was formerly a television presenter and worked as a lawyer, confronted right-wing Anze Logar. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. Logar admitted his defeat and congratulated Musar tonight.
In the first round, Logar, from the right-wing SDS party, was the favorite. But none of the seven presidential candidates managed to get more than 50% of the vote, necessitating another round of voting.
Of a ceremonial nature
Musar (54) succeeds Borut Pahor, president since 2012. He was not allowed to run for re-election.
Throughout her campaign, Musar has focused on issues such as human rights, the rule of law, and social welfare. She previously she was a lawyer first lady Melanie Trump in defamation case. “All my life I have been a supporter of democracy, human rights and tolerance,” Musar said after her victory. “It’s time to turn our backs on the past, we have a future to work towards.”
The presidency in Slovenia is largely ceremonial in nature. But the election was seen as a test case for Prime Minister Robert Golob’s recently inaugurated left-liberal government. His green party became the biggest out of nowhere last April.
Right-wing populist Janez Jansa (SDS) preceded Golob. He has in the past been accused of undermining press freedom and the rule of law. Last year, Jansa received it via Twitter on the stick with the Dutch cabinet, after the prime minister called Dutch politicians “puppets of George Soros”.
