PM Jansa's SDS Retain Top Spot Ahead Of Assuming EU Presidency

The latest opinion poll from Slovenia shows Prime Minister Janesz Jansa's populist right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) sustaining its position as the most popular political party in the country, with the big-tent pro-EU List of Marjan Sarec (LMS) recording a significant decline in support.

• Parsifal poll SDS: 32% (+1), Social Democrats: 18%, LMS: 12% (-5), The Left: 8% (-2), New Slovenia-Christian Democrats: 7% (+1) Slovenian People's Party: 6% (+2), Democratic Party of Pensioners: 4% (+1), Pirate Party: 3% (+1), Slovenian National Party: 3% (-1), Good State: 2% (-1). +/- vs. 12-14 April. Fieldwork: 10-13 May. Sample size: 726
• The next election is not due to be held until June 2022 at the latest. Based on these polls Jansa's party would emerge comfortably as the largest in the National Assembly, and would be best placed to form another gov't.
• Slovenia's gov't is likely to come into significant focus in the months ahead as it assumes the rotating presidency of the European Council from Portugal on 1 July.
• EU liberals have criticised the Jansa gov't for governing in a similar style and pursuing similar policy objectives to the other populist leaders in CEE, Hungary's PM Viktor Orban and Poland's governing Law and Justice Party.
• However, European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic speaking to Dnevnik earlier this month said that Slovenia was not on a list of 'problem countries' for the EU institutions, saying "In Slovenia, the political arena is much more varied, whereas in Hungary one bloc has a constitutional majority in parliament."