Can Robert Golob avoid the fate of the region’s political newcomers?

It seems to be the time of political start-ups in smaller countries of Central and Eastern Europe: after Kiril Petkov’s newly founded party won the Bulgarian election at the end of 2021, Robert Golob’s less than one-year-old party made him prime minister in Slovenia.

But just as quickly these parties rise, they can also fall, as it was learned by Mr Petkov, who was ousted as prime minister only eight months after the election. Or from another ex-prime minister of Slovenia, Miro Cerar, who won the election in 2014 with his own party, held the top post for four years, then his party became less and less popular, merged with another party, which did not even reach the 4% threshold in the 2022 elections.