Slovenia’s new parliamentary speaker pledges NATO exit referendum

Slovenia’s new parliamentary speaker Zoran Stevanović has reignited debate over the country’s geopolitical orientation by pledging a referendum on NATO membership and announcing plans to visit Moscow, even as his controversial election to the post is overshadowed by evidence that some supporting ballots in the secret vote were marked.

The controversy comes just weeks after Slovenia’s 22 March parliamentary election delivered a razor-thin result, with Prime Minister Robert Golob’s liberal Freedom Movement finishing first on 28.66% and Janez Janša’s SDS close behind. With no bloc securing the 46 seats needed for a majority in the 90-member assembly, smaller parties including newcomer Resni.ca with its 5 seats have suddenly become pivotal to coalition bargaining and key parliamentary appointments.

Slovenia heads for difficult coalition talks after razor-thin election result

Zoran Stevanović, the leader of the anti-establishment Resni.ca party who rose to prominence during protests against COVID-era restrictions, said in an interview with Slovenia’s public Radio Prvi programme Prvaki tedna, his movement would support any prime ministerial candidate willing to align with its core programme, while insisting it would not enter a government led by either Janez Janša or Robert Golob. Stevanović is of Serb origin, although he identifies himself as Slovenian.

In one of his clearest foreign policy interventions since entering high office, Stevanović rejected accusations that his party holds pro-Russian views, instead framing his position as one of “pro-Slovenian” sovereignty.

“I have no pro-Russian positions, only pro-Slovenian ones,” he said, arguing that Slovenia should cooperate with all major powers while avoiding subordination to any of them.

He added that the party would follow through on its campaign promise to hold a referendum on Slovenia’s withdrawal from NATO, saying the vote would go ahead.

The remarks place him on a collision course with Slovenia’s mainstream Euro-Atlantic consensus. While he acknowledged that leaving the EU would likely not win public backing because the country benefits significantly from membership, he said decision-making on Slovenia should be returned from Brussels to Ljubljana.

Stevanović also confirmed that one of his first planned foreign visits as parliamentary speaker would be to Moscow, alongside already scheduled trips to Skopje and Copenhagen. He said his aim was to “build bridges” across the divide between East and West.

Coalition arithmetic without Janša or Golob

On domestic coalition-building, Stevanović reiterated that Resni.ca’s non-negotiable priorities are anti-corruption, transparent governance and tax policies aimed at improving living standards.

He said the party would not compromise on the fight against corruption, including ending what he described as the culture of “untouchables” within law enforcement and politics.

At the same time, he sought to draw a distinction between parliamentary cooperation and participation in government, defending his previously notarised pledge never to cooperate with Janša’s SDS.

According to Stevanović, that pledge lost its original meaning once Resni.ca entered parliament because all MPs inevitably become colleagues within the same institution. However, he maintained that the substantive promise remains intact: the party will not join a Janša-led or Golob-led cabinet.

The position is politically delicate given that his election as speaker was made possible by a 48-vote bloc bringing together Resni.ca, SDS, NSi, SLS, Fokus and the Democrats.

Healthcare, referendums and institutions

Beyond geopolitics, Stevanović used the interview to position Resni.ca as a defender of publicly financed healthcare, while also calling for broader use of private medical capacity to shorten waiting lists.

He also pushed strongly for a more expansive use of referendums, arguing that citizens should always have the final say on key decisions. According to him, technological solutions such as e-referendums could make direct democracy cheaper and faster.

The new speaker has also already moved to send symbolic signals about his leadership style. On his first working day, he removed the camera-equipped intercom from the entrance to the speaker’s office, with parliament’s public relations service describing the move as a message of openness, accessibility and less political isolation.

Marked ballots trigger legal controversy

Yet the legitimacy of Stevanović’s rise to the speakership is now under renewed scrutiny after an inspection of Friday’s secret ballots revealed that some votes cast in his favour were marked.

Of the 48 supporting ballots, nine carried a small circle in the lower right corner, six had a dot next to the vote in favour, and four featured a star near the top of the ballot. By contrast, all 29 ballots cast against his appointment were unmarked.

The pattern has fuelled suspicions that some parliamentary groups used identifying symbols to verify how their MPs voted in what should have been a secret vote.

A comparison between the number of similarly marked ballots and the size of parliamentary groups suggests the markings may correspond to NSi, SLS and Fokus, the Democrats, and Resni.ca itself.

The practice has triggered sharply divergent legal reactions.

Constitutional lawyer and former politician Ciril Ribičič told Siol.net it is an old method used by parties to control MPs, warning that monitoring legislators’ will is unconstitutional and illegal.

Another legal expert, Rajko Pirnat, took a narrower view, arguing that secrecy was not necessarily breached if each MP marked their own ballot voluntarily. However, he said it would constitute a violation if ballots had been pre-marked before distribution.

Former parliamentary speaker Milan Brglez said he would have annulled such a vote altogether, arguing that marked ballots compromise the secrecy of the process for all MPs.

Pavel Gantar, another former speaker, called the practice morally and politically problematic, saying it gives the new speaker “a bad start”.

Sources: Rtvslo and EUalive’s partner Siol.net

Caption: Zoran Stevanović, photo from his Facebook page