Slovenia: is the new coalition agreement fit for purpose?
In Slovenia, a centre-right government has replaced the left-liberal coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Golob. The new head of government, national conservative Janez Janša, has already held this office three times in the past. Slovenia's media discuss the new minority government's coalition agreement, which is supported in parliament by the right-wing populist party Resni.ca.
A good plan for reversing the trend
Commenting on the coalition agreement in Dnevnik, economics professor Jože P. Damijan voices pleasant surprise:
“In the sections that are crucial for the country's development – finances, the economy, labour and sport, infrastructure and energy, public administration, education, health, demographics, the environment and spatial planning, and agriculture – 80 to 90 percent of the proposed solutions and measures read as if I had written them myself. … If the new government implements at least 80 percent of what is written here, between 2026 and 2030, Slovenia will finally reverse the trend of declining productivity and enter a phase of accelerated productivity, higher wages and stable birth rates. If not, and if the government loses its focus amid ideological struggles, we will witness a continuation of the developmental paralysis.”
A labyrinth without focus or utility
Mladina, on the other hand, is unsparing in its criticism:
“The new coalition offers a mix of right-wing political activism and market-driven voluntarism, packaged as supposedly down-to-earth economic pragmatism. The political and economic utility is therefore limited. ... The chaotic jumble of important and unimportant solutions loses its strategic focus and coherence in terms of development policy. Consequently, the genuinely valuable aspects of this document get lost in this labyrinth.”