Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob speaks to the media after voting during the parliamentary election in Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 22, 2026. BORUT ZIVULOVIC / REUTERS
Slovenian outgoing Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party secured a razor-thin majority in parliamentary elections last month, on Monday, April 20, said he had failed to form a coalition. His announcement opens the door for runner-up Janez Jansa, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, to seek to form a coalition in the EU member country of two million people.
"We are looking forward to our work in the opposition," liberal Golob, 59, told reporters after meeting President Natasa Pirc Musar. He added that he had not found a partner among center-right parties to join his party and its allies to secure a parliamentary majority.
Golob's liberals won 29 seats last month, while the conservatives of three-time premier Jansa got 28 seats in the 90-seat parliament. Jansa, who had frequent run-ins with Brussels during his last stint as prime minister, has pledged to restore "Slovenian values," such as the "traditional family," and "close the [state money] pipe" to NGOs deemed political parties.
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