Slovenian government faces test in pre-election investment referendum
21/09/2017 14:16
By Marja Novak
LJUBLJANA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Slovenians vote in a
referendum on Sunday on whether the government should pursue
construction of a 1-billion-euro ($1.20 billion) railway to its
main Adriatic port - a test of the government's popularity ahead
of elections next year.
Given the opposition's lead in opinion polls and criticism
of the project as too expensive, analysts see possible changes
in the centre-left coalition government ahead of the elections
in June or July 2018 if the railway gets a thumbs-down in the
referendum.
"If (it) is rejected that would be a strong blow to the
government, particularly the leading party SMC (Party of the
Modern Centre)," Meta Roglic, political analyst at the daily
Dnevnik, told Reuters.
Opinion polls have forecast varying outcomes of the
referendum but suggest turnout might not be sufficient to block
the railway project. A poll published by daily Delo said voters
would narrowly reject the project, while another released by
Dnevnik said voters would back it by a 53-29 percent margin.
Under Slovenian law, a minimum 20 percent of some 1.7
million eligible voters would be needed to sink the project, in
addition to a majority of those voting.
Civil society group Taxpayers Don't Give Up and the leading
opposition group, the centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party
(SDS), pushed for the referendum, saying the railway line as
projected by the government is too costly. ID:nL8N1JV48Z
The government says the 27-km (17-mile) rail link between
Koper and the town of Divaca is necessary to speed up freight
traffic to and from Slovenia's only port LKPG.LJ and improve
the port's competitiveness. ID:nL8N1G91SN
The government has received 44.3 million euros in EU funding
for preparation of the track while neighbouring Hungary said it
is willing to invest about 200 million euros as it relies on
Koper for much of its seaborne freight. ID:nL5N1HE38Y
The opposition SDS has led in opinion polls for most of the
past year. But government parties hope to improve their ratings
by advancing the railway project, raising family subsidies and
the lowest tier of wages, and injecting more money into the
state health sector in the coming months.
($1 = 0.8333 euros)
(Reporting by Marja Novak; editing by Mark Heinrich)
((Marja.Novak@thomsonreuters.com; +386-1-5058805, Reuters
Messaging: marja.novak.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SLOVENIA REFERENDUM/