Slovenia’s populist leader loses power as trend continues

By ALI ZERDIN
Associated Press

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Only months ago, Robert Golob was virtually unknown in politics, didn’t belong to any party, but had a clear goal: remove Slovenian populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa from power and stop a democratic backslide in the tiny Alpine state.  On Sunday, the Freedom Movement, a liberal green party formed by Golob only in January, won Slovenia’s general election with a convincing 10% margin over Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic party as people turned out massively to vote for change. As a party coming out of nowhere to win the election, the Freedom Movement follows a pattern seen in some other Eastern Europe states where other right-wing populists lost elections mainly to newly formed parties and coalitions.