Elections to National Council concluded

In November 2007, the elections to the National Council (DS), the second chamber of parliament, were concluded. Among the new councillors, four employer and four trade union representatives have been elected. Many experts say that the DS is not in a position to operate more effectively because of its lack of power. Therefore, the question remains whether the council should be transformed or abolished.

On 23 November 2007, the elections to the National Council (Državni Svet, DS), the second chamber of parliament (SI0207103F), were concluded.

As the DS deals with issues concerning the interests of employers and workers, four of the new 40 councillors represent the employers: two are from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (Gospodarska zbornica Slovenije, GZS), one from the Slovenian Employers’ Association (Združenje delodajalcev Slovenije, ZDS) and one from the new Slovenian Chamber of Commerce (Trgovinska zbornica Slovenije, TZS). Another four of the newly-elected group represent the trade unions: three representatives are from the Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS) (SI0210102F) and one from the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (Konfederacija sindikatov javnega sektorja, KSJS).

The only female councillor in the DS, Lidija Jerkič, became the new Vice-President of the council. She also holds the position of President of the Metal and Electro Industries Trade Union of Slovenia (Sindikat kovinske in elektroindustrije Slovenije, SKEI), affiliated to the ZSSS.

Composition and role of National Council

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, adopted on 25 June 1991, the DS is ‘the representative body for social, economic, professional and local interests’. It is the second chamber of parliament, with the first and the main chamber being the National Assembly (Državni Zbor, DZ).

Many experts say that the DS is not in a position to operate more effectively because it has very weak powers. For instance, its strongest power is that it may require the DZ to reconsider and readopt a law prior to its promulgation – this is called the DS veto and postpones the adoption of a law by one week. Therefore, the DS does not codetermine with the DZ on the adoption of various legal and political documents. For this reason, some experts do not consider the DS to be a real second chamber of parliament and say that its powers must be strengthened because the right of veto is not a sufficiently strong power.

The DS has 40 members – councillors – elected for a term of five years. It is composed of:

• 18 representatives of different interest groups, including four members representing employers, four representing employees, one for farmers, one for crafts, one for trades, one for independent professions and six for non-commercial activities;
• 22 members representing local interests.

The DS may:

• propose to the DZ the adoption of laws – this is referred to as its right of initiative;
• require the DZ to reconsider and readopt a law prior to its promulgation – this is called the DS veto and postpones the adoption of a law by one week, and is the strongest power held by the DS;
• convey to the DZ its opinion on all matters within the competence of the DZ;
• require the calling of a referendum and an inquiry on matters of public interest.

Commentary

Different opinions have been expressed about whether the DS performs its constitutional role successfully and whether it should be transformed or abolished. The trade unions are against the abolition of the DS because this would diminish their possibilities to promote workers’ interests.

The DS proved that its existence is necessary when, on 17 September 2007, it asked for a referendum to be called regarding the government amendments to the Ownership Transformation of Insurance Companies Act (Zakon o lastninskem preoblikovanju zavarovalnic) of 2002. The amendments to the act, adopted by the parliament on 11 September 2007, concerned the privatisation of 35% of the market leader Triglav Insurance Company (Zavarovalnica Triglav d.d., ZT).

According to the act, some 35% of Triglav would have been transferred to the hands of an estimated 750,000 policy holders. However, the government later adopted amendments that would transfer the 35% stake to the state-run Pension Fund Management (Kapitalska družba pokojninskega in invalidskega zavarovanja, KAD). This led the DS to first veto the government amendments and later request a referendum, which was held on 11 November 2007. Overall, voters rejected the amendments, with 28.64% voting for and 71.36% voting against the changes.

Besides the DS and the opposition parties, the trade unions conducted a strong campaign against the government amendments, arguing that the exclusion of so many policy holders was unacceptable.

Štefan Skledar, Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development