Slovenia

The return of the Janša administration has been accompanied by a familiar instrument: new penalties for public demonstrators. Meanwhile, the media landscape is showing signs of shifting as the popular outlet Žurnal24 is reportedly being put up for sale. Potential buyers are circling the publication, even as questions persist regarding why the state is not effectively explaining its foreign policy shifts to the public.

Public services are showing signs of strain that no amount of messaging can mask. Parents in the capital are now required to drive to distant municipalities to find a pediatrician, and a major new health station project remains an empty shell because the government has approved the building but failed to hire anyone to run it. In the police force, an investigation suggests that associates of a former Maribor mayor are being installed in key positions, suggesting that who you know in Styria matters as much as what you know in Ljubljana.

Discussions are taking place regarding a creative shuffle of the national budget: abolishing the public broadcasting fee and potentially introducing a levy to fund a second nuclear power plant. Whether the plant will actually be built remains unclear, and the future of the funding remains uncertain. For now, the only relief on the horizon depends on Brussels, as the government waits for permission to cut fuel excise taxes and lower prices at the pump.