Slovenians voted in a presidential run-off Sunday with opinion polls favouring former premier Borut Pahor, despite his support for government austerity plans that have brought thousands of protesters on to the streets in the recession hit eurozone state.
Pahor, 49, pulled off an upset in the first round on November 11 when he won almost 40 percent of the vote ahead of the then favoured incumbent President Danilo Turk, 60, with almost 36 percent.
On Sunday, he was expected to win with 60 percent ahead of 40 percent for Turk, according to latest opinion polls published Friday. Pahor, who is backed by the centre-left opposition Social Democrats (SD), appeared to have won voters over by admitting that some of his decisions as prime minister were wrong.
Having been ousted after a no-confidence vote in 2011, he has capitalised on his image as a good-looking, relaxed, people's politician with a US-style campaign for the post of president, a largely ceremonial role. Turk, who is running as an independent candidate with the backing of the largest centre-left opposition party, Positive Slovenija (PS), lost most of the candidates' televised debates, according to commentators. Analysts said however the results could be impacted by a wave of protests against austerity measures introduced by the centre-right government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa aimed at cutting the public deficit this year to 3.5 percent of GDP. Turnout was just over 12 percent at 1000 GMT. Final turnout on November 11 was 48 percent, the lowest ever in a Slovenian presidential election.
Slovenia, once seen as a star new member of the European Union, is suffering one of the deepest recessions in the eurozone, while problems with its banks have raised fears it may need a bailout.
While Pahor has defended Jansa's unpopular austerity policies - which include public sector wage reductions and social welfare cuts - Turk's position has been more in line with the public mood. "Turk's victory would be a big surprise... but he still has some chances," Vlado Miheljak, a political specialist at Ljubljana University, told AFP, adding that the incumbent might be able to "ride the wave" of social dissatisfaction. "People do not want their president to be excessively soft, they want somebody who can point his finger at the government."
A week after the first-round vote, 30,000 people attended a rally in Ljubljana called by Slovenia's main unions to protest at the austerity cuts, and several other demonstrations have followed. On Friday, police in Ljubljana used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators and detained over 30 people after violence erupted at the end of a largely peaceful rally.
"The government should listen to protesters, it should not try to intimidate them," Turk said as he voted on Sunday. "This government has been unsuccessful, it is arrogant, and it should make big changes. Turk added he was optimistic of his chances after opinion polls showed him closing the gap on Pahor.
His rival said he had "a good feeling" as he cast his vote in the south-eastern town of Sempeter. "If I succeed, the result will send a strong message to Slovenian politicians that collaboration and unity are needed to overcome the (economic) difficulties," Pahor told journalists.
While the Slovenian president has little power, analysts say the prime minister would benefit from collaborating with the head of state - particularly if the opposition and unions succeed in calling referendums to try to prevent the implementation of new austerity or reform measures. Pahor said at a candidate debate this week that there was no other option than belt-tightening. "We should not lose any more time speculating about possible alternatives," he said. " Some 1.7 million Slovenians are eligible to vote. Polls close at 1800 GMT, with initial results expected shortly afterwards.
Comments
Comments are closed.