Trump-style conservativism returns as European countrys PM makes radical political shift

ŠKOFJA LOKA, Slovenia: The Republic of Slovenia, the central European nation known for being the birthplace of First Lady Melania Trump and LA Lakers star Luka Dončić, is undergoing a radical shift in politics as the country comes to terms with its new larger-than-life prime minister. Prime Minister Janez Janša recently scraped together a coalition that did away with the country’s leftist leader, Robert Golob.In what is his fourth term, Janša has begun what many see as Trump-like policy corrections.He has reversed Golob’s anti-Israel policies by announcing his intent to move the Slovenian embassy to Jerusalem, freezing Slovenia’s recognition of a Palestinian state and revoking a 2025 ban on military trade with Israel.Janša also believes in strong US relations.

During an America 250 event hosted by the US Embassy in Ljubljana, and with the First Lady’s father, Viktor Knavs, in attendance, Janša described how America was the beacon for Slovenian independence. “We imagined America, the United States of America, as the ideal embodiment of that free world… That Slovenia, too, would become the home of the brave in a land of the free.” Domestically, he says his new government will reverse what he called the Golob government’s “inefficiency” and turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted.”He has announced plans to reverse many anti-business policies, cut government red tape, support private education and healthcare, reform the pension system, decrease the size of government and invest in infrastructure projects, including a plan to build a second reactor at Slovenia’s Krško nuclear power plant.Despite some policy disagreements, Janša was a close ally of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.He has expressed support for Ukraine, traveling to Kyiv during his last term as prime minister in March 2022 with the then-Polish and Czech Prim...