An accordion player in Ljubljana’s Prešeren Square — clad in traditional dress and selling CDs marked ‘Slovenian Music’ — has become a campaign image. The main opposition, the right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), has plastered posters showing a smiling boy with an accordion and the slogan ‘Vote SDS, so your grandson will still sing Slovenian songs.’
Tone Kajzer, the SDS foreign policy spokesperson and a former diplomat, says the instrument stands for national identity. ‘As an Alpine country, the accordion is one of the basic instruments which gives us our identity,’ he told DW, arguing the party wants Slovenians to see themselves ‘first, then Europeans.’ The SDS messaging deliberately evokes an idealized past, suggesting life was better in the years after independence in 1991.
By contrast, the governing centre-left Freedom Movement (GS) has distilled its campaign into one word: ‘Forward.’ Secretary General Matej Grah frames the vote as a choice between two visions — progress or retreat. ‘These elections are about two different visions of Slovenia. Either we speak and work for the future or we turn back to history,’ he says.
There are up to 18 candidate lists on the ballot, and smaller parties could be pivotal in forming a post-election coalition. But the contest is chiefly framed as a duel between Prime Minister Robert Golob, who leads the Freedom Movement, and SDS leader Janez Janša, a three-time former prime minister. Grah calls it a battle for Slovenia’s soul, touching on public services, the rule of law, sovereignty and the country’s liberal and social values.
Golob’s Freedom Movement broke a recent pattern for the centre-left: since his surprise rise in 2022, the party completed a full four-year term. It won a record number of seats in 2022, and unlike previous cycles the centre-left lacks a fresh challenger to unseat him. Broadcaster Igor Bergant notes the centre-left has struggled to find a lasting figurehead since the death of former leader Janez Drnovšek in 2008.
Still, Golob faces criticism that his promised sweeping reforms have not materialised quickly enough. Bergant says Golob argued he needed two mandates — eight years — to deliver change, but after one term ‘his track record is not so good,’ and some voters are frustrated by perceived timidity on reform. The Freedom Movement counters that it has made progress on healthcare, housing and pensions and deserves a chance to finish its program.
Health services are a dominant concern across leading parties, signaling that many voters do not yet feel tangible improvement. The campaign’s final days were also unsettled by leaked covert recordings alleging corrupt practices among senior centre-left figures. Golob has accused Janša of hiring a private Israeli intelligence firm and of undermining democracy through ties to foreign actors. The SDS responds that the core issue is systemic corruption within the country.
How those allegations and the competing narratives will sway voters will be decided at the ballot box. When the count is done, it should be clearer whether Slovenians favour Janša’s appeals to tradition and national roots or Golob’s progressive, forward-looking agenda.