Lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar is favored to win the second round of the presidential elections to be held this Sunday in Slovenia under the promise of defending the rule of law against Anze Logar, former ally of former right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa and former Foreign Minister, who has seen his chances diminish substantially since the first round.
Pirc Musar, who also served as head of Slovenia’s Information watchdog and has advocated for LGBTQ rights, leads the polls with 51.7 percent support according to a Mediana poll published by the ‘Delo’ newspaper on Thursday and picked up by Bloomberg.
Logar, winner of the first round, has fallen behind with 44.6 percent, a gap that will be hard for him to overcome unless turnout is unusually low. The united front of the opposition, which has poured all its support into Musar, has partly caused his plunge in the polls.
In his legal practice, Pirc Musar, 54, has worked for former U.S. first lady Melania Trump, who was born in Slovenia and has citizenship there, when she sued a tabloid in a defamation case that settled for an undisclosed amount. The presidential candidate was also part of the team hired to protect the former first lady’s legal and trademark interests.
A victory would extend the unbroken string of presidential victories by leftist candidates dating back to the formation of the Balkan state in 1991. It could also bolster Prime Minister Robert Golob, who took power after this year’s general election on a promise to reverse sweeping changes by Jansa, who gave his allies greater influence in the courts and state media.
While the president is commander-in-chief of the army and nominates constitutional judges, central bank governors and senior diplomats, the role is largely ceremonial. Most decisions are ultimately made by the prime minister and his cabinet and approved by parliament.
