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| Slovenia’s President Wins Second Term in Runoff Election | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Voters in Slovenia went to the polls on Sunday to decide a runoff election between a sitting president deeply rooted in the political establishment and a former actor who had appealed to the electorate by tapping into concern about the struggling economy. | LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Voters in Slovenia went to the polls on Sunday to decide a runoff election between a sitting president deeply rooted in the political establishment and a former actor who had appealed to the electorate by tapping into concern about the struggling economy. |
| With all votes counted after the polls closed at 7 p.m. local time, the incumbent, Borut Pahor — described by one news media outlet as Europe’s Instagram president — received nearly 53 percent, according to results published by Slovenia’s National Election Commission. | With all votes counted after the polls closed at 7 p.m. local time, the incumbent, Borut Pahor — described by one news media outlet as Europe’s Instagram president — received nearly 53 percent, according to results published by Slovenia’s National Election Commission. |
| His rival, Marjan Sarec, the former actor and mayor of a small town north of the capital, Ljubljana, received a little more than 47 percent of the vote. | His rival, Marjan Sarec, the former actor and mayor of a small town north of the capital, Ljubljana, received a little more than 47 percent of the vote. |
| Mr. Sarec, 39, congratulated Mr. Pahor, 54, for winning a second term in this tiny Alpine country that was once home to America’s first lady, Melania Trump. | Mr. Sarec, 39, congratulated Mr. Pahor, 54, for winning a second term in this tiny Alpine country that was once home to America’s first lady, Melania Trump. |
| Mr. Pahor, who won a five-year mandate, will become Slovenia’s second two-term president since 1991, when the Slavic nation of two million people gained independence after the collapse of Communist Yugoslavia. | Mr. Pahor, who won a five-year mandate, will become Slovenia’s second two-term president since 1991, when the Slavic nation of two million people gained independence after the collapse of Communist Yugoslavia. |
| “I’ve learned a lot in this campaign,” Mr. Pahor said in an address to supporters at his campaign headquarters in Ljubljana. “I understood that people want me to speak out more often, and I promise to make their voices heard.” | “I’ve learned a lot in this campaign,” Mr. Pahor said in an address to supporters at his campaign headquarters in Ljubljana. “I understood that people want me to speak out more often, and I promise to make their voices heard.” |
| He said he would intervene to help “politicians solve problems, not to deepen divisions” in the nation. | He said he would intervene to help “politicians solve problems, not to deepen divisions” in the nation. |
| “I will work hard to restore people’s faith into democracy and its institutions, particularly those who chose not to cast their ballots today,” Mr. Pahor said. | “I will work hard to restore people’s faith into democracy and its institutions, particularly those who chose not to cast their ballots today,” Mr. Pahor said. |
| Public opinion experts had predicted a tight race after Mr. Sarec forced a runoff with the widely popular president in the first round of the vote. | Public opinion experts had predicted a tight race after Mr. Sarec forced a runoff with the widely popular president in the first round of the vote. |
| “It’s really telling that a candidate like Pahor, with so much experience, skill and popularity, had such a challenger in Sarec, who comes from nowhere and appears to have little to offer,” said Tanja Staric, a veteran political reporter who is now the news editor of Slovenia’s public broadcasting network. | “It’s really telling that a candidate like Pahor, with so much experience, skill and popularity, had such a challenger in Sarec, who comes from nowhere and appears to have little to offer,” said Tanja Staric, a veteran political reporter who is now the news editor of Slovenia’s public broadcasting network. |
| Ahead of the runoff, Mr. Sarec had narrowed Mr. Pahor’s lead in the opinion polls, an indication that Slovene voters were in sync with those across Europe, where candidates campaigning from the fringe of traditional political parties and the governing elites have steadily gained support. | |
| Nearly 42 percent of 1.7 million eligible voters — 715,096 — cast their ballots on Sunday, just under the turnout after the first round, on Oct. 22, when 43 percent of eligible voters in Slovenia cast ballots. | |
| The presidential election is considered a dress rehearsal for next year’s vote for Parliament. The fight for control of the government will pit the right-wing nationalist Janez Jansa, the former prime minister and the current opposition leader, against Dejan Zidan and his left-of-center social democrats. | |
| While there is a populist tilt in Slovenia, the shift is nowhere near the seismic changes in Britain, where voters last year backed leaving the European Union; in Germany, where the Alternative for Germany became the first far-right party to enter Parliament in decades after elections in October; or in Austria, where the People’s Party emerged in October as the strongest political force in the country, setting the course for a rightward shift. | While there is a populist tilt in Slovenia, the shift is nowhere near the seismic changes in Britain, where voters last year backed leaving the European Union; in Germany, where the Alternative for Germany became the first far-right party to enter Parliament in decades after elections in October; or in Austria, where the People’s Party emerged in October as the strongest political force in the country, setting the course for a rightward shift. |
| Mr. Pahor is deeply entrenched in the traditional party system of the left that has ridden the waves of European social democracy since the collapse of Communism. He had served as the country’s prime minister and the president of its Parliament before being elected president in 2012. | Mr. Pahor is deeply entrenched in the traditional party system of the left that has ridden the waves of European social democracy since the collapse of Communism. He had served as the country’s prime minister and the president of its Parliament before being elected president in 2012. |
| Mr. Sarec, who was elected mayor of Kamnik in 2010, is better known for impersonating politicians on a satirical radio program than for being one himself, Ms. Staric said. In the past three weeks, however, he had managed, she said, to appeal to “ordinary people, the average Joe, who feels left behind in the global economy.” | Mr. Sarec, who was elected mayor of Kamnik in 2010, is better known for impersonating politicians on a satirical radio program than for being one himself, Ms. Staric said. In the past three weeks, however, he had managed, she said, to appeal to “ordinary people, the average Joe, who feels left behind in the global economy.” |
| The collapse of the health care system, unemployment among the youth and the economic recovery were among the major issues for voters. While Slovenes say they do not expect the president to solve their problems, they say they hope that the elected candidate will provide moral guidance to the new Parliament next year. | |
| Slovenia is the wealthiest and most socially progressive of the states that have emerged from the collapse of Yugoslavia. In 2004, it was also the first to join the European Union and NATO. | Slovenia is the wealthiest and most socially progressive of the states that have emerged from the collapse of Yugoslavia. In 2004, it was also the first to join the European Union and NATO. |
| Yet Slovenia, a country the size of New Jersey, has struggled to find its place in the European Union, with its leaders refusing to partner openly with other Central European countries like Hungary and Poland, which are striving to be one of the 28-member bloc’s core decision-makers, like Germany and France. | Yet Slovenia, a country the size of New Jersey, has struggled to find its place in the European Union, with its leaders refusing to partner openly with other Central European countries like Hungary and Poland, which are striving to be one of the 28-member bloc’s core decision-makers, like Germany and France. |
| Mr. Pahor, who led an American-style campaign using social media to lure voters, insisted that Slovenia belonged to that group of powerful countries. He frequently referred to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, as his “friends.” | Mr. Pahor, who led an American-style campaign using social media to lure voters, insisted that Slovenia belonged to that group of powerful countries. He frequently referred to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, as his “friends.” |
| While Mr. Sarec emphasized his pro-European Union stance, he promised to address Slovenes’ concerns about what they saw as the European Union’s failure to hold a unified position on immigration or to find solutions to economic malaise in the eurozone. | |
| Slovenia has yet to recover from a downturn in 2009; its economy has shrunk by 8 percent. During the migration crisis in 2015, the country was a front-line country, with tens of thousands of migrants crossing on their way to seek asylum in Germany and Sweden. | Slovenia has yet to recover from a downturn in 2009; its economy has shrunk by 8 percent. During the migration crisis in 2015, the country was a front-line country, with tens of thousands of migrants crossing on their way to seek asylum in Germany and Sweden. |
| Last year, Slovenia’s government was instrumental in closing the so-called Balkan route for migrants, working with Austria to its north and fencing off its border with Croatia to the south to stem the flow. | Last year, Slovenia’s government was instrumental in closing the so-called Balkan route for migrants, working with Austria to its north and fencing off its border with Croatia to the south to stem the flow. |
| The presidency in Slovenia’s highest elected office, but it holds no executive powers. The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and has the power to dissolve Parliament and call early elections. | The presidency in Slovenia’s highest elected office, but it holds no executive powers. The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and has the power to dissolve Parliament and call early elections. |