SLOVENIA: A rightward turn for the worst

Polarisation is on the march in Slovenia, driven by a right-wing populist who gained power in March. The outgoing government had been relatively open to civil society, and civil society had enjoyed some positive partnerships. But all that changed when the minority centre-left-led government collapsed in a dispute over healthcare funding, allowing Janez Janša to become prime minister at the head of a new coalition government. Janša and his Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) had been kept out of government despite winning more seats than any other party in the June 2018 election because other parties had shied away from its extremist views.