SLOVENIA: Slovenia's prime minister conceded last night that his party was facing its first general election defeat since the Alpine nation won independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
With 40 per cent of votes counted, the centre-right Democratic Party (SDS) had 29 per cent of ballots, almost 8 per cent more than the centre-left Liberal Democrats (LDS) led by Prime Minister Mr Anton Rop, who admitted that the final result was unlikely to bring redemption for his ruling coalition.
"It seems that this result or a similar one will remain at the end," he said.
"The Liberal Democratic Party will continue its mission as the opposition in parliament, but I can already promise that we will come back in the next elections stronger and better-prepared.
"I wish whoever forms the new government the best of luck," he added.
Supporters of the SDS appeared to have won enough votes to allow the party, which is led by former defence minister Mr Janez Jansa, to form a new government, just five months after Slovenia joined NATO and the European Union.
But doubts remained over whether his coalition would be strong enough to radically shake up domestic politics, as Mr Jansa has promised, and give the nation of 2.1 million a coherent and powerful voice in Brussels.
"In fact we need a really good result in order to change Slovenian politics. Broad coalitions usually mean inefficient rule," said Mr Jansa after he voted in the capital, Ljubljana.
Slovenian television predicted that Mr Jansa's coalition would probably gain only two seats more than Mr Rop's, raising fears that reform plans will be stymied by parliamentary power struggles.
The tight race seemed to have given the independent Slovenian Nationalist Party the role of "kingmaker", with its 6 per cent of votes likely to prove crucial in forming a government.
"If these results prove to be true, it will be harder for me to choose the candidate for creating a new government, and he himself will have a tougher task when preparing a coalition," warned Slovenian President Mr Janez Drnovsek, who must nominate the next prime minister.
The run-up to the election, which drew about 47 per cent of Slovenia's 1.6 million voters, was dominated by a clash over a disputed border with neighbouring Croatia.
A dozen members of the right-wing People's Party were detained and, they allege, manhandled by Croatian border guards when they tried to cross the contentious frontier without their passports.
After the incident, opinion polls showed a surge in support for the People's Party, to about 8 per cent from below the 4 per cent needed to enter parliament.
The issue proved disastrous for Mr Rop, who was heavily criticised by the domestic media and EU officials for his response, which centred on a threat to withdraw Slovenian support for Croatia's bid to join the EU in 2009.
His effort to win nationalist votes - which included joining fishermen on a shabby boat to cast a net into disputed waters - clearly backfired, with polls showing an immediate drop in popularity for the LDS.
Hours before polls opened, Slovenian journalists went on strike, demanding improved working conditions and higher salaries.
