Bombay Durpun - Slovenia votes in tight polls, with conservatives eyeing comeback

A Jansa return could see the ex-Yugoslav nation, a European Union member of two million people, take an illiberal turn again after four years of centre-left rule under liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob.

Foreign interference claims have shaken the campaign, with authorities probing whether an Israeli intelligence firm was behind secretly recorded videos suggesting alleged graft in Golob's government.

"I think these are the most important elections in Slovenia in a long time," a 26-year-old landscape architect, who only gave her name as Shiva, told AFP this week in the capital, Ljubljana.

Jansa's conservatives long polled ahead of Golob's liberals, but the gap has recently closed, according to opinion polls, with the two parties now running neck-and-neck.

Under Golob, a political newcomer when he took over from Jansa in 2022, Slovenia legalised same-sex marriage and became one of the few EU countries to describe Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide".

- 'Afraid for my pension' -

Voting stations opened at 7:00 am local time (0600 GMT), according to AFP journalists. They will close at 7:00 pm, with exit polls released just after the closure.

"If we do not get a right-wing government, then we're done... I'm afraid for my pension. There will be no (state) money," Anica Vranjak, a pensioner in her early seventies, told AFP after casting her vote in the village of Arnace, where Jansa also voted, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of the capital Ljubljana.

In his campaign, Jansa, 67, has accused Golob's government of squandering money as if it "grew on trees" and said the election is "a referendum on corruption".

He has also pledged to put Slovenians "at the forefront" and restore "Slovenian values" such as the "traditional family" and "close the pipe" of state money to NGOs deemed political parties.

"Slovenian voters have the power of their vote in their hands only today. And if this power is not used, Slovenia will slide backwards instead of catching up with developed Europe," he told reporters after casting his vote.

The last government of the three-time premier -- an ally of nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- saw mass protests and EU criticism over rule-of-law concerns.

- Election interference claims -

Golob, 59, said in Friday's televised debate that voters were deciding "what kind of Slovenia" they want.

"For those who love Slovenia under the free sun, the choice is very clear," said the former power company manager.

Golob this week asked the EU to probe alleged election interference following the publication of the series of secretly recorded videos.

Slovenian authorities are investigating whether Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube was behind the videos, which feature a Slovenian lobbyist, a lawyer and a former minister, among others.

The videos allegedly show the officials suggesting ways to influence decision makers in Golob's government to speed up procedures or win contracts.

Jansa this week admitted to having met a Black Cube official, but has denied being behind the videos.

On Friday, more than 1,000 people gathered in front of parliament to urge fellow citizens to cast their vote.

"This campaign has been one of the dirtiest and most content-free campaigns in the history of Slovenia... People are disappointed," one of the rally organisers, Jasa Jenull, told AFP.

Far-right parties have made significant gains across Europe in recent years amid economic downturns and fears over Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"If the right-wing bloc wins, this would mean the fall of another liberal stronghold in Europe, another nail in the liberal democracy's coffin," political commentator Aljaz Pengov Bitenc told AFP.

V.Ishfan--BD