Overview of the week's top stories
since 24 November 2002

On Sunday, Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek (LDS) became the second president of Slovenia. Drnovšek, 52, had a strong showing in the second round of voting, winning more than 56.51 percent over his rival, Barbara Brezigar.

Turnout was 65.06 percent, after nearly 73 percent in the first round on 10 November. The results of Sunday’s election are still unofficial, as votes that were mailed in are still being counted. The official results will be released on 10 December.

Drnovšek stepped down as Prime Minister on Monday, and will be inaugurated as president on 23 December.

His successor as Prime Minister will be current finance minister Anton Rop (LDS), whom President Kučan formally recommended to parliament on Friday.

All of the opposition parties – the SDS, NSi, and SNS as well as the SMS – have said they will offer Rop no support. The governing coalition, made up of the LSD, ZLSD, SLS and DeSUS, however, has enough of a majority in parliament to ensure Rop will have little problem. The representative of the Italian minority has also offered his support.

Finance reported that the list of candidates to become Rop’s successor in the post of finance minister is not long. The daily expects that state secretary Helena Kamnar has the best chance, although another state secretary at the Ministry of Finance Sibil Svilan is also in the running along with Milana M. Cvikla of Nova Ljubljanska Banka.

Rop is expected to be named Prime Minister by 23 December, when Drnovšek formally assumes the post of president.

Of the 193 municipalities which had elections, mayoral races were concluded in the first round in 132 and a second round was necessary in 61. Overall, the SLS won the most mayoral posts, 46, followed by the LDS (29), SDS (18), ZLSD (14), NSi (4), SNS (1), National Labor Party (1) and Union for Primorska (1). A total of 61 elected mayors ran as independents, while 18 ran under the banners of more than one party.

Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek looked to the future, saying in his statement that "Slovenia is honored by the invitation which has been extended to join Nato, as this places it among the strongest and most advanced countries in the world, which are fighting together to protect peace and security in the world."

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel, "Along with Slovenia's efforts to join the European Union, which alone does not ensure security and depends largely on Nato for this, the Alliance invitation is a final acknowledgement of the maturity of Slovenia's statehood. It is also proof that the international community has recognized Slovenia's legitimate belonging to the West."

He touched on the arguments of Nato critics, saying, "There is no doubt that Nato membership also brings responsibilities…" but stopped short of addressing concerns specifically. Instead, he concluded by saying, "I believe that over the past ten years of independence, Slovenia has proved to be a responsible member of the international community. It has also proved to be ready to contribute to international peace, security and prosperity to the best of its ability."

Speaker of Parliament Borut Pahor went further towards addressing the concerns of critics. "The prospective membership does not only bring benefits for Slovenia, but also obligations, responsibilities. Nevertheless, they are acceptable considering what we will gain from membership," he said in his statement.

Defense Minister Anton Grizold took a different stance in his statement. "I call upon Slovene companies to gear up as new markets will open up as Slovenia joins Nato," he said.

His visit was marked not only by official meetings and demonstrations of Slovenia’s military capabilities, but also by protests.

Drnovšek told the international press that Slovenia will hold a referendum – most likely next year – in which a majority will vote in favor of joining the alliance. However, public opinion polls bring such statements into question.

The results of the latest University of Ljubljana Politbarometer showed a drop in public support for Nato membership in the days before the Prague summit. The number of Nato supporters fell from 49 percent in October to 43.7 in November, while the number of opponents rose to 36.2 from 32.5 and the number of undecided also rose, to 20.1 from 18.6 percent in October.

Roma representation in city councils

Of the six towns, only Trebnje decided to permit the election of a Roma representative during the local elections held earlier this month, even though its statutes did not allow for this. The other five must call supplementary elections for Roma representatives no later than thirty days after their revised statutes are published in the Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, ministers of culture from twelve Slavic countries and territories met at Brdo pri Kranju at the invitation of Slovene Minister of Culture Andreja Rihter. This was the first such meeting, and it was intended to increase cultural cooperation among countries with Slavic-speaking populations.

The ministers agreed to create a joint body based in Ljubljana called the Forum of Slavic Cultures.

Both the process of globalization and the accession of several Slavic countries to the European Union have led to increased interest in the protection of the particular cultures of the various Slavic-speaking nations. The meeting aimed at increasing cooperation primarily in the fields of literature, culture and the arts, education and communication.

Since Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic are all expected to join the European Union in 2004, this opens the possibility of attracting EU money for projects related to the Forum.

Ministers of culture or their representatives from Russia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, the Republika Srpska, Belarus, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as the Belarusian ambassador to Hungary, all attended. Ministers from Ukraine and the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina were also invited, but were unable to attend.

The meeting ended on Wednesday, with the adoption of a joint statement on the Forum of Slavic Cultures. The ministers will meet next March in Bulgaria to begin work on joint projects.

On 29 November, the government approved the text of the Decision on the Establishment of the University of Primorska, which will create Slovenia’s first new university since the University of Maribor was established 27 years ago. The Council for Higher Education approved the decision in October.

The university is expected to have roughly 4000 students, and to have facilities in various towns and cities throughout the region, from Koper to Nova Gorica.

The university will receive SIT 831 million (USD 3.6 million) from the state budget this year. In 2003, the amount will rise to SIT 1152 billion (USD 5.0 million) and in 2004 to SIT 1330 billion (USD 5.8 million). Other income will come from tuition and other fees, as well as from gifts, donations and other sources.

The government will name the university’s rector no later than one month after the decision takes effect, and will name the administrative committee no later within three months.

On Saturday, 30 November, a new inter-city bus line connected Slovenia’s Nova Gorica and Italy’s Gorica. This is the first such cross-border connection in Europe.

The bus route begins at the Nova Gorica bus station and runs along Vojkova, Lavričeva and Cankarjeva streets to the border crossing at Erjavčeva street. From there, it runs along Corso street to the Gorica train station.

Two busses, one Slovene and one Italian, will make the seven-kilometer trip 24 times each day until 31 December. During the first month, the trip will be free of charge; if there is sufficient interest, the bus route will become permanent and a one-way ticket will cost one euro. Organizers would like to extend service to the near-by towns of Šempeter-Vrtojba and Miren-Kostanjevica as well.

Slovenes in Hungary

Jože Hirnök has been elected to another four-year term as president of the Union of Slovenes in Hungary (ZSM) at the organization’s general assembly in Monošter on 23 November. Hirnök has led the organization since its founding in 1990.

The 2001 Hungarian census recorded 3040 ethnic Slovenes, up from 1930 on the 1990 census. Some 3187 reported Slovene as their mother tongue in 2001.

As the Croatian parliament, the Sabor, debated the future of political representation for national and ethnic minorities, the Slovene community spoke out last week. According to Darko Šonc, president of the Union of Slovene Associations in Croatia, Slovenes are demanding the right to an ethnic Slovene representative in the Sabor.

Currently, the Sabor has five minority representatives, who each represent two minority communities.

The parliamentary Subcommittee on National and Ethnic Minorities is currently discussing the government’s suggested Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities, which is about to enter its second reading in the Sabor.

The draft law, however, will neither determine which minorities will have the right to a parliamentary representative nor will it determine the total number of minority representatives the Sabor will have in the future. These details are to be taken up in a separate law.

The 2001 Croatian census showed a massive drop in the ethnic Slovene population – from 22,378 in 1990 to just 13,173 in 2001. Nearly 12,000 people declared Slovene as their mother tongue.

Slovenska kinoteka will host the 18^th annual Festival of Gay and Lesbian Film in Ljubljana from 1 through 8 December. The festival began in 1984, and is the oldest gay and lesbian film festival in Europe.

The trio Sestre will perform at the opening on Sunday, followed by the first screenings: a trio of documentaries about gays and lesbians in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.

Other highlights of the festival include the international award-winning Varuh meje (Guardian of the Frontier) by Slovene director Maja Weiss, Michael Cuesta’s L.I.E. Other films on the program come from France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

The festival is organized by the Škuc Society, With financial support from the City of Ljubljana, the Slovene Office of Youth Affairs, Škuc – Magnus, Institut Francais Charles Nodier and the British Council.

Sunday, 1 December was World AIDS Day. Although the number of cases of HIV infection and AIDS in Slovenia remains significantly low, the Center for Communicable Diseases recently released a report which showed that the disease is not completely absent from the country.

During the period 1 January to 25 November 2002, two new cases of AIDS and 18 new cases of HIV infection were reported to the Institute of Health Protection of the Republic of Slovenia.

The first case of AIDS in Slovenia was reported in 1986. Since then, just under 100 cases have been reported. In the period 1 January to 25 November 2002, three patients died of AIDS-related illnesses. Most of those infected have already died, so that today it is estimated that there are just 26 people in the country living with AIDS. The number of those living with HIV is 96, according to the report.

The report states that in comparison to other European states, the number of people who have been tested for AIDS remains low, which could mean considerably more people have HIV or AIDS than official statistics show. According to the report, the group at the highest risk is homosexual men, while intravenous drug users do not appear to be at as great a risk as in other parts of the world.

The sixth Proletarian-Punk University began on 22 November in Ljubljana. This year’s university is entitled "May ’68: reVISION." The University runs until 10 April 2003 and is sponsoring lectures by local and foreign academics, as well as seminars and debates.

• The Ministry of Information Society opened a new e-School in Velika Nedelja on Friday at the local elementary school. The site will make ten computers available to the public free of charge. The ministry reports that the investment is worth some SIT 8.2 million (USD 34,000). The ministry began the e-School project last year with the aim of extending access to the internet beyond Ljubljana and Maribor, where most of the country’s users currently are.

• A Slovak new translation of the works of France Prešern, entitled Prešernova pot v svet (Prešern’s Path to the World) premiered in Kranj on Tuesday. This is the seventh translation of the poet’s works into a foreign language, following earlier translations published in German, Italian, French, English, Croatia and Russian. The translation is the work of Lubomir Feldek of Bratislava.

• On 3 December, Ljubljana’s K4 club hosted the Day of Alternative Culture to mark the anniversary of the birth of France Prešern and the 25^th anniversary of punk rock in Slovenia. Aside from numerous performances, the schedule also included a roundtable discussion on the 25^th anniversary of punk in Slovenia, as well as an exhibit of photography.