Slovenians vote against assisted dying law
Slovenians rejected a new law on assisted dying in a referendum on Sunday. With a turnout of 41 percent, around 53 percent of those who cast their ballots voted against it. The law would have legalised assisted dying for terminally ill patients in certain circumstances. Conservative and religious groups campaigned against it.
Political shifts becoming apparent
The referendum testifies to a general shift towards conservatism, Dnevnik explains:
“In Slovenia, society has so far been predominantly liberal or social democratic in terms of cultural identity. But that is not set in stone. At the same time, the broader political shifts we are seeing both in Europe and within the country should not be ignored. Especially given that every political vote will count in the next parliamentary elections, as opinion polls have been pointing to a very close result for some time now.”
A minority tipped the scales
Anthropologist Vesna Vuk Godina comments on the reasons for this result in Delo's supplement Onaplus:
“The key factor is that the outcome of elections and various referendums is often decided by a minority of Slovenians – the minority that is better organised. And this minority is right-wing politically. It is the tightly-organised core of the right-wing political and voting camp, and it generally responds in a disciplined manner – complying with the demands of its political leaders or the Slovenian Catholic Church. That was the case this time, too.”