The Slovenia Times 123

LIFE STYLE: Enjoying December in the Slovenian capital

Win Some, Lose Some Gazprom Gets a Pipeline, Slovenia Travels to the World Cup Lj ub l in jan si a de m ! ap

The Slovenia Times, Slovenian magazine in English, volume 6, number 123, EUR 4,80

December 2009

CONTENTS

December 2009 4

Panorama

6

2009 in the rear view mirror

POLITICS

8 9 11

Swine flu vaccination dilema Slovenia and Croatia sign arbitration agreement IEDC President forum

14 16 19 20

ECONOMY

22 25 26 27

29 30 38 40

South Stream pipeline gets a go-ahead Awards for the best FDIs in Slovenia in 2008 Igor Plestenjak, chief of JAPTI, talks about FDI Interview: Gregor Veselko takes over as the boss of the port of Koper Miloš Vignjević of UniCredit on the credit crunch Mercator is on sale, Istrabenz being dismembered Car industry in dire straits Interview: Ernest Gortan, CEO of logistics company Intereuropa

Partners

LIFESTYLE City break in Ljubljana Ljubljana map Magnificent ski slopes near Ljubljana Dine with style: Smerkarjev hram

C

M

Y

CM

SOCIETY 42

SILA charity bazaar

CULTURE 43 44 45

20th Ljubljana film festival Jazzy vibes in Kino Šiška Event Guide

50 52 53 54 55

SPORTS People: Peter Mankoč, champion swimmer In memoriam: Tomaž Humar, climber Nordic skiing season preview Slovenian football fairytale revived Novelties at ski resorts

LEISURE 56 58

Five ideas for your merry december Every picture tells a story December 2009

MY

CY CMY

PANORAMA

source: STA, Slovenian Press Agency

APCs, Bribes, Lies and Newspapers

When other Slovenian media addressed Bjoerqvist to check out on his findings, he denied Delo’s writings saying the entire set of

quotes was made up by the journalist Dejan Karba, whom he indeed met in Finland. He also denied having said that Slovenian investigators were doing their job poorly, what was also one of the information in the disputed report. Finally, Bjoerquist decided not to give any more statements about the case to the Slovenian media.

Meanwhile Delo editor-in-chief Darijan Košir stated that he could understand Bjoerqvist “is now having problems with his superiors because of excessive talkativeness...”. Karba wrote that he used the allegedly off-the-record statements because he felt they were important to Slovenian public. The controversial report at the end outraged both those who want to see Janša guilty and those who believe in his innocece, both Slovenian and Finnish investigators and mostly, Slovenian journalists, who consider such reporting a professional disgrace.

Photo: BOBO

Daily Delo quoted Finnish investigator Erik Bjoerkqvist saying that the bribe money from the 2006 deal between the defence contractor Patria and Slovenia went not the former Slovenian PM Janez Janša, but to his party SDS. The SDS denied accusations saying saying the party respects the law, which prohibits parties to get funds from abroad. On contrary, Delo also suggested the money have landed in companies close to the SDS and quoted Bjoerkqvist saying, “free newspapers represented a large part of the puzzle.” This suddenly made sense to all who questioned the financial source behind the massive circulation of free weeklies with no explicitly political publisher, but extreme pro-SDS content, which lasted only until the last parliamentary elections.

International ties

Suicides

From Libya with Camels

The Inner Peacekeeping

Borut Pahor paid a two-day official visit to Libya, the first ever visit by a Slovenian prime minister to Libya, where was was accompanied by around 10 business executives. After meeting his counterpart Baghdadi Mahmudi, Pahor said that the annual trade between the two countries could increase tenfold in the next ten years from the current EUR 150m.

Pahor was also received by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The 10minute meeting which took place in Gaddafi’s beduin tent was uncertain until the very last moment. The pair also exchanged gifts: Gaddafi received a Lipizzaner horse, whereas Pahor was given two camels.

The army has confirmed that 24th November death of a female soldier in Villagio Italia army base in Peč, Kosovo, was a suicide. The incident happened as Slovenian soldiers were getting ready for a training exercise with live ammo. The 27 year old soldier shot herself with an automatic rifle during a phone conversation to a soldier, searching for her, after she didn’t show up at the training grounds.While Slovenia ranks as the world’s fourth country in suicides, its first ever death of a Slovenian soldier on a mission abroad was, ironically, a suicide. Only a few days later, another service member was found shot dead at home. He shot himself with a rifle, which was however not military issued. He worked as a military driving instructor in the northeastern town of Slovenj Gradec. According to the commercial broadcaster, the 30-yearold took his life after having recently returned from psychiatric treatment. The suicides opened public debates on motivation, expectations, psychical condition and mobbing of Slovenian servicemen.

Legislation

Mayors of the Parliament

Photo: BOBO

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The National Assembly rejected coalition-sponsored amendments to the deputies act, which would prevent deputies from simultaneously serving as mayors. There are 24 mayors among 90 members of the incumbent assembly, and an additional 29 are also serving as deputy mayors or city councillors. The powerful mayoral lobby in parliament once again prevented the passage of the changes, even though they were put forward by the coalition and endorsed by the government in October. The proponents’ main argument was that holding both offices at the same time should be abolished to prevent a conflict of interest.

Editor-in-chief Marko Vuković marko.vukovic@sloveniatimes.com

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Photo: BOBO

UNDER THE PRESS

History

Cold Memories for Operation North President Danilo Türk’s decision to decorate the Socialist Slovenia’s National Security Service boss Tomaž Ertl with a medal for his contributions to independence has sparked protests from the opposition and some key players of the independence movement. Ertl held a leading role in a 1989 police campaign that prevented a disputed rally that Serbian nationalists wanted to stage in Ljubljana. Beside the members of the oppositional SDS, the list of people who publicly protest Ertl’s decoration consist of some respected personalities from all walks of life. Ertl led Operation North is widely viewed as helping to carve Slovenia’s path to independence. However, as the protest statement says: “Accounts and documents show unequivocally that Tomaz Ertl was personally involved in ordering secret police operations against anyone who led the democratisation process and worked for Slovenia’s independence... He ordered wiretapping, shadowing and harassment of freedom-loving people.”

The legend

Monumental Issue The son of the late Former President Janez Drnovšek has called on the Zagorje municipality to remove his father’s bust from central park named after him, and to rename the park. The request for removal comes more than a year after the bust was erected in August 2008 despite opposition from Drnovšek’s family, which claims that such memorials are not what the late president would have wanted. The mayor of Zagorje ob Savi, Matjaz Švagan firmly opposes the idea.

The case might subsequently end in court, which will have to decide between a the right to privacy and the public’s right to honour its great men.

The argument of power is becoming omnipresent, from most internal to foreign affairs. To mention the ruthless exploitation of workers, the intentional destruction of companies, the total insensibility of powerful and wealthy Kramarians* who do not (yet) think about morality; and a number of small Eichmanns, who bureaucratically move people from one register into an empty space, not wanting to know where their train leads to. *referring to ex-NLB boss Marjan Kramar who got a EUR 1m compensation package for himself despite the financial crisis Criminologist Dragan Petrovec on the current state of morality at razgledi.net

Let them rejoice. I’m happy they became immortal, that they have proven on the field how the heart values more than millions … I had the feeling it this would happen since the beginning.

Matjaž Kek, the director of Slovenian football team, after the victorious SloveniaRussia match.

Congratulations to the entire team. I have just wiped their football shoes – not very detailed but enough to make it to South Africa. The result was foreseen as the government decided to win 1:0 and the boys respected it. .

PM Borut Pahor after the glorious match. …and I promise a training match for the Slovenian team at the new stadium at Stožice before the World Championship.

It has only 16,280 seats.

Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković announces the deadline for the construction of the long-awaited Ljubljana stadium in front of the crowds celebrating the historic football victory.

Crime

Bombs Against Gavels An explosive device was set off in front of the home of Ljubljana District Court judge Katarina Turk Lukan in Radovljica (NW), injuring the judge’s 13-year-old daughter. Police Commissioner Janko Goršek said first findings indicated the motive was very likely related to judge’s work.

The great Russia has 142 million inhabitants... seventy times small Slovenia. But it is enough for only two of them, Zirkov and Kerzakov get a red card, and all the sudden there are more Slovenes than Russians.

Collumnist Boris Dežulović on the power of numbers (in Dnevnik)

The Church

Uran Resigns In the USA and the UK, yes. But not in Slovenia, because they don’t know what is Borat.

Photo: BOBO

Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation offered by Ljubljana Archbishop and Metropolitan Alojz Uran and appointed Maribor Auxiliary Archbishop Anton Stres as his successor. Uran, who has recently been admitted to hospital several times, resigned for health reasons. The sixth Ljubljana archbishop and Slovenia’s fifth metropolitan, Uran succeeded Franc Rode, who in 2004 left for a top office in the Vatican in April 2004. Following Uran’s resignation, several other changes were made in the Slovenian Church hierarchy.

Increasingly critical to his own nation, marathon swimmer and a Hollywood celebrity Martin Strel answers a journalist’s question on whether it is true he is being compared to a Sasha Baron Cohen’s comedy character Borat. (in Žurnal)

2009

The Jungle Under the Alps An editorial review of the ten typically Slovene events that have distinguished our beloved country from the rest of the world.

by Jaka Terpinc and Marko Vuković

2

1

The Face of Recession

Tempest in a Teacup

Taking a definition of recession, two consequitve quarters of negative growth, and turning it on its head, one could say that Slovenia has emerged out of the slump. The country’s economy grew by 1% in the third quarter of 2009, which makes for the second consecutive quarter of growth after two negative ones. On the annual level, Slovenia’s GDP is still down 8.3%, however. In 2009 it is expected that the GDP will shrink by 7,4%

Slovenia started 2009 in a state of a deep diplomatic dispute with its southern neighbour, Croatia. The cause was Slovenia’s push for a solution to an ongoing maritime border dispute, using its ultimate weapon: a veto to Croatian EU accession. Slovenia’s aim was to thus settle its maritime status and international sea access. The unpleasant side effect was that certain extremist politicians took the situation as an opportunity to extend their ambitions with further territorial claims. The events provoked by these rising tensions also feature an assassination attempt, as a deranged Croatian war veteran armed with an arsenal of hand grenades with Pahor’s name on them, was caught heading for Ljubljana. In a year of ambitious and unfriendly politics, tensions seem to be loosening as the prime ministers managed to arrive at a compromise statement leading to the international arbitration. In the meantime, much unnecessary political poison was spilt into the Bay of Piran, where the two countries need to find a solution for a maritime border.

Source: SURS

20

To maintain its army in a NATO-compatible status, Slovenia needed a few hundred armoured personnel carriers, which would be the army purchase of the decade. Things were already controversial when Finnish Patria APC was chosen as the supplier over a domestic manufacturer. Then in autumn 2008, Finns began investiging alleged bribery cases in their own company Patria, with strong leads towards various Slovenian sources. The affair reached its peak as Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund packaged the story into a dramatic documentary suggesting that Slovenian taxpayers had also sponsored the millions worth bribes, which Patria issued to Slovenian public servants in order to get the deal. Moreover, the number one bribe taker would be the ex-prime minister himself, Janez Janša. Despite the accused denying all, claiming the whole story from Finland was a setup to smear him, too many leads suggest that at least some accusations cannot be denied simply by claiming media conspiracies. As the Finnish police are obviously more interested in getting things done, they have already conducted hearings of the accused. The investigation continues.

18

10

0

-6

-14

4

Un-erasing

-22

2007 Q1

When Slovenia became independent, some people’s record of permanent residence remained in other war-torn Yugoslav federal republics, from which they had long before moved. Despite decades of living in Slovenia, some 25,000 did not apply for a new residence a soon enough, while this option was automatically available in 1992. After that, they were simply erased from the registers. And yes, a few of them indeed opposed the country’s independence, which was a main justification for this “genocide by bureaucracy,” with terrible consequences to certain individuals, who were stripped off their rights. The so-called Erased, the bad conscious of independent Slovenia, was a hot issue for gaining cheap political points, which kept the situation in a stalemate, until the Ministry of the Interior under the leadership of Katarina Kresal finally decided to grant retroactive residence permits, in accordance to the ruling of the Constitutional Court in 2003. Her decision resulted in a failed non-confidence vote by the opposition, whose main argument was the possibility that the erased would then sue the state for compensations.

2009 Q3

Photo: BOBO

3

Mother of all Affairs

Which shape for the recession? economic growth and export growth, y-o-y, in %

5

The first 588 of what are were roughly 3,300 workers of insolvent clothes maker Mura received pink slips in October. The company, once the biggest employer in Pomurje, a region in the northeast of the country, laid off more than 2600 workers in 2009. Slovenian government decided to request money from the European Globalisation Fund to help the apparel maker. It hopes EUR 1-2m could be secured, which Slovenia would top up with a 40% co-payment. Some of the Mura workers were rehired by solvent subsidiaries, but most will likely remain on the dole considering the lack of jobs in what is the poorest region in Slovenia.

The Slovenia Times

Photo: BOBO

The Ballad of Mura

2009

6

Gay OK?

The new family law, which is ready to be voted on, is considered very modern and praised for its features, which aim to protect children and deal with domestic violence. However, some elements of this law are unacceptable for people, who disapprove a family defined as “union of two persons of the same or different sex.”

Political subjects, who oppose equalizing the homoand heterosexuals have already staged protests and announced the use of any means necessary to prevent the passage of the law. The law came as good news to the gay community soon after its activists faced the worst assault so far: An obviously organized group of masked perpetrators threw torches into a gay bar and beat journalist Mitja Blažič.

7

Media Blackout

Slovenia dropped seven places on the World Press Freedom Index, calculated annually by the Paris-based NGO Reporters without Borders. On the world’s 37th spot, the country is now preceded even by African countries like Namibia and Ghana. Even if we can argue the objectivity of the NGO, there’s little proof against our miserable score. While brainless reality shows blossom, we could witness a successfully enforced prohibition of unflattering descriptions of a certain businessman, or the censorship of political satire show. Beside the merciless media market, the political obsession with media control seems to be further influencing a constant drop of the press quality.

Photo: Nada Žgank, www.narobe.si

009 8

A Tragic year for Lone Wolves

Jure Šterk sailed the Atlantic eight times, and circled the globe in an only 6.5-metre long sailboat. He also made most of his vessels himself. His last broadcast was made on 1st January. His boat was spotted damaged four weeks later in the Indian Ocean and found wrecked in March. Since he was not on the board, he is still considered missing.

Pavle Kozjek was one of the world’s best climbers. In his brilliant career, he made a series of remarkable climbs, mostly in the Andes. He was the first Slovene to climb Mount Everest without an oxygen mask. In August, his attempt climb Muztagh Tower resulted in a fatal accident.

Tomaž Humar was another climber who has reached the world fame for his daring climbs. His uncompromising adventurous spirit and a man-versus-nature spirituality made him a sort of guru. Despite warnings from his closest friends, he made an attempt on a new route on the south face of Langtang Lirung in November. After he made his last short call to let others know he was injured, four days of desperate hope remained until the helicopter found him – dead.

9

Farming for Fame

As reality shows are taking a serious if not a dominant role in television programmes, Slovenia is no exception. The show Kmetija (Farm), which unlike the Big Brother franchise challenges contestants in a natural environment on a farm without any modern equipment, was an instant success on a commercial station. This year’s run – Kmetija slavnih (Farm of the Famous) – employed not-exactly-top-of-the-league celebrities, among them a porn star and a transvestite. In contrast to an idyllic rural setting, the viewers were – among other sights – shown genitals and addressed with very vulgar language. It would probably all remain within the limits of the acceptable, if the show wasn’t aired at 8pm and getting sky-high ratings.

10

The numerous individuals who try and reach the stars in many extreme ways are, according to certain analyses, a result of a small nation’s weakness in team sports where a critical mass is crucial.

Symbolically, soon after the last of the previously mentioned loners met his unfortunate end, a miracle happened. Slovenia qualified for the football World Cup, beating Russia in extended qualifiers (more in sports section). And let’s not forget that 4th placement at Basketball Euro cup means something as well. Both the President and the Prime Minister did their best to level with the crowd and demonstrate (or pretend) they are true to the cause. PM Pahor also fulfilled his promise he would clean the shoes of football team in case of victory.

Photo: BOBO

Goooaaaal!!!

December 2009

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Playing Ball

POLITICS

By Marko Vuković

It was easy enough to get carried away

by the enthusiasm that swept through the country when Slovenia’s national football team defeated the Russians in Maribor, earning themselves a ticket to the World Cup in South Africa next year. Top political brass, complete with Prime Minister Borut Pahor and President Danilo Türk, was also there, of course, to steal at least a little bit of the limelight and to show the people that they too share their hopes and fears.

Unfortunately, the image that is going to stick in an average media consumer’s mind will be the one of Türk lukewarmly chanting fan tunes, painfully out of tune. Taken as a metaphor, this image is very potent, representative of a political elite that feeds the public cheap platitudes, while not being capable of providing solutions to the crisis that has spilled over from the economic to the political arena.

Some may take solace in the fact that in the future Slovenes will not have to worry about being left out in the cold in the winter. Slovenia has reached an agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom on the construction of an offshoot its South Stream gas pipeline through the country’s territory. Reason enough to conveniently forget about the human-rights credentials of the new Russian ambassador to Slovenia, who once led the Russia-friendly government in Chechnya.

And we all know what has been going on there.

The opposition, led by SDS chief and former prime minister Janez Janša, has been adamant in not letting this one pass, demanding parliamentary debate on the issue. It is, therefore, understandable that howls of protest were heard from the same quarters when Türk awarded Tomaž Ertl, Slovenian interior minister right before the break-up of Yugoslavia, a medal for his services in Operation North, which had helped defend Slovenia from Serb nationalists who were in essence planning to overthrow the government.

While it is true that Ertl was the head of Slovenian secret service that arrested Janša and jailed him in 1989, that does not devalue his actions that were instrumental in bringing about independence two years later. Letting bygones be bygones has never been an option in this country’s divided political environment – chest-pounding and heated debates about who should be hailed as the real liberator of Slovenes from the Yugoslav quagmire started almost immediately.

In the meantime, the economy has slid further into recession. Although it grew in the third quarter, the GDP is still down more than eight percent compared to year ago. And time (as well as money) is slowly running out. If in the beginning of the crisis everybody was a Keynesian, demanding a fiscal boost to the economy, there is now increasing talk of reform that would help in reining in public expenditure. Of course, there is less and less money in state coffers and soon politicians will need to prepare the citizens for the inevitable belt-tightening. Expect more union protests and fewer happy faces on the nation’s streets.

To Panic or Not to Panic?

Since its outbreak in Mexico in April, the new flu virus – H1N1 – has created near havoc throughout the world. To make matters worse, the fast-track development of the vaccine seems to have only added to the confusion and alarm.

By Maja Dragović

Photo: Mediaspeed

I

n Slovenia, the health authorities have assessed that up to 25% of the population could catch the virus. Vaccination for the general public started at the beginning of November, and the first to be vaccinated was medical director of Slovenia’s largest hospital, UKC Ljubljana, Brigita Drnovšek-Olup.

This should send a reassuring message to the people who have reservations about the vaccine’s safety.

However, the government’s stance on the issue – or the lack thereof – is complicating matters.

On the one side there is Katarina Kresal, the minister of interior, and Karl Erjavec, the minister for the environment. Zmago Jelinčič, leader of the Slovenian National Party, has also opted out. On the other side, the minister of health, Borut Miklavčič, who himself will have the vaccine, is adamant that it is safe and is calling on everybody, including the prime minister, to be vaccinated.

The prime minister, Borut Pahor, who has first decided not have the H1N1 vaccine because, he said, was is in good health, changed his mind later.

Whose example to follow is anybody’s guess. With the lack of clear guidance, ordinary Slovenes are fending for themselves.

Total shutdown After the news broke that eleven students had been diagnosed with the new flu virus in Polzela primary school, near Celje, a fifth of school’s students did not attend classes the following day.

The pandemic war machine went into work – the school was completely disinfected, updated pamphlets given to both teachers and students, while posters already in place taught parents appropriate personal hygiene. Of course, the outbreak was on all news bulletins as a leading story.

The same happened when an outbreak occurred in preschool in a town ironically called Zgornji Kašelj (meaning “The Upper Cough”), on the outskirts of Ljubljana. Again, this was the breaking news on major Slovenian news channels. And again, many children – 90 – stayed at home the following day to keep away from the virus.

At least things are not as bad as in Ukraine. The measures there are amongst the toughest in Europe and schools have actually been closed down, travel restrictions imposed, and public events restricted.

Where there is smoke, there is conspiracy To make matters worse, all sorts of conspiracy theories have surfaced, adding fuel to the fire. Neva Miklavčič-Predan, the president of Helsinki Monitor of Slovenia, a human rights group, has called on the government to remove the H1N1 vaccine from the market because of its “dangerous side effects.”

She went even further by suggesting that some governments have declared a pandemic so they could force citizens to be vaccinated against their will. She said this has already happened in some countries, including the United States of America. But for her, the conspiracy does not stop there.

She has also implied the immunisation programme is a biological genocide whereby the world will lose five billion people in the next ten years as a consequence of vaccination against the H1N1 flu.

In Germany, however, the conspiracy is taken in another direction where some say government ministers – who, by the way, will be vaccinated – may be getting a “safer” vaccine than the rest of the population. Most Germans will be getting Pandemrix, a vaccine that contains an adjuvant, while Germany’s politicians, government employees and troops will get

Celvapan, without an adjuvant.

Adjuvants –chemical compounds that boost the immune system – are relatively new in flu vaccines, and there is limited data on how safe they are in certain population groups, such as pregnant women and children.

In Serbia, on the other side of the spectrum, the government is accused of scaremongering in order to cover up the bailout of a very powerful businessman in dire straits. Three million vaccine doses have been ordered from the Novartis Group of Switzerland, which is represented in Serbia

by Jugohemija Farmacije, owned

by Miroslav Mišković, one of the wealthiest Serbs, believed to be gravely affected by the global financial crisisJust to clarify, the placement of this clause indicates that Mišković is affected by the crisis, not his company.

The situation on the ground Although the situation in Slovenia is not alarming, the number of new H1N1 cases is on the rise – in November it has increased from 18 in 100,000 to 77 in 100,000, with seven people dying from the virus by the end of the month.

If a large scale outbreak does happen, however, the Ministry of Health says that Slovenia is well prepared, having ordered 800,000 doses of vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline. But that might all be in vain since some surveys suggest more than 80% of the population has opted not to have the vaccine. The reasons for not doing so are varied but conflicting reports about

the safety of the vaccine seem to have played a part.

What is to be done?

So, there is the new virus. And there is a new vaccine. And one H1N1 flu death in one million infected makes the news headlines.

But is it all a whole load of bird

flu? Looking at all the extreme reactions, it might be difficult to take this flu threat seriously. But, then again, it is difficult not to. It can’t be ignored. After all, the warning pamphlets are everywhere. So, wash your hands, wear masks, and get – or maybe not – vaccinated.

Slovenia-Croatia

Agreement, finally?

The potentially historical agreement to end the Slovenia-Croatia border dispute awaits ratification; however, its contents still face criticism in both countries. Sensible doubts or just another opportunity for cheap political exhibitionism on a sensitive issue?

Jaka Terpinc and STA

T

he Slovenian Prime Minister, Borut Pahor, a nd his Croatian counterpart, Jadranka Kosor, signed an arbitration agreement in Stockholm on 4 November, which is expected to bring an overdue solution to the 18-year border dispute between the countries. After that, the bilateral battle moved onto the home fronts.

The move was welcomed by Swedish PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt,

who signed the treaty on behalf of the Swedish EU presidency and also acted as a witness, and Slovenian President Danilo Türk, who labelled it “...an important step on the path to resolving the border dispute”. Slovenian MEP Tanja Fajon (SD) said the signing was a historic step forward, while MEP Lojze Peterle (EPP/NSi) regretted it, despite the European People’s Party (EPP) welcoming it. In a predictable manner, the coalition

parties also welcomed the signing, whereas all three opposition parties criticised it, announcing they would file a joint motion for a referendum on the agreement to “protect the most vital of Slovenian interests” if the deal is ratified.

The government endorsed the border arbitration agreement with Croatia in mid-November and sent it to parliament for ratification.

However, the government decided that before deputies can vote on it,

the agreement will undergo a review at the Constitutional Court and a vote in a consultative referendum. The Croatian parliament overwhelmingly endorsed the agreement on 20 November.

To speed up procedures at the court, the government asked it to review only a part of the agreement signed in Stockholm. The article in question is 3a, which requires an arbitral tribunal to rule on the land and sea border beDecember 2009

Photo: BOBO

10 POLITICS

Prime Ministers Pahor and Kosor sign arbitration the agreement under the watchful eye of their Swedish counterpart Fredrik Reinfeldt.

tween the two countries. According to insiders, the court is expected to take at least until the end of the year to hand down its ruling.

Legal experts also say it could rule on any part of the agreement regardless of what the government deems problematic or disputable.

All three Slovenian opposition parties remain opposed to the agreement. The opposition also insisted that parliament should decide on the ratification with a two-thirds rather than simple majority, which the government rejected.

Careful or just envious?

The weeks following the agreement were marked by issuing of warnings, precautions, doubts and political wisdom either through media or directly through parliamentary procedures. Critics

coming mostly from the opposition side let the public and the commentators speculate whether the discontent with agreement is caused by real fears or just jealousy, because the coalition accomplished something worth envying. Often mentioned by the coalition is the controversy of the opposition SDS, which opposes the agreement that is supposed to be a far better option for Slovenia than appointment to the international court of law, which what is as much as the former PM Janša was able to accomplish this regard during his term.

The agreement indeed comes with uncertainties. For example, in a statement appointing the arbitration court to determine Slovenia “junction to the high sea,” many wonder what this junction actually means – territorial contact, or just a passage?

Most of the opposition to the agreement would remain within

Opinion

Defenders of Holy Soil Suffer an Identity Crisis The old truism goes that a country’s

foreign policy is only an extension of its domestic policy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia and, as of late, in the case of the arbitrage agreement signed by Prime Ministers Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor weeks ago in Stockholm, Sweden.

For the last 18 years the dispute was much abused politically.

Mind you, there were legitimate attempts at solving it (most notably the Drnovšek-Račan agreement), but as time passed and frustration mounted, the situation came to a point where it first had to be defused in order to be solved. The fuse was slowly burning by way of countless politicians from both sides of the border using the dispute to score cheap political points. While one could easily make a similar case for Croatia, the fact of the matter is that the list of “true defenders of holy Slovenian soil” is long and distinguished. As a result, those who fancied themselves protectors of the southern border and all things Slovene are now in serious trouble as ending the dispute would deprive them of their most basic political platform and – consequentially – of their primary political identity. The party fitting this description most is the Slovene People’s Party (SLS) led by Radovan Žerjav.

In the last couple of years SLS went from bad to worse, in terms of its political power. As a result, the party increasingly relied on the border dispute as the main factor in its political identity. It advocated maximalist solutions at Croatia’s expense, and this approach was successful enough to ensure SLS’s continued survival. Solving the border issue would probably sentence it to political oblivion, where for reasons of dominance on the political right wing, Janez Janša has been trying to send it for years.

Janez Janša and his SDS party, on the other hand, seem to have been caught off guard by the speed at which Pahor and Kosor struck the deal. Even more. when SLS’ push started turning into a shove when they openly supported the referendum bid, SDS remained curiously quiet. This seems to suggest that they were caught between a rock and a hard place. Supporting the referendum would start a barrage of justified accusations from PM Pahor’s ruling coalition of putting The Slovenia Times

By Aljaž Pengov Bitenc

partisan politics above national interest, whereas not supporting the referendum would draw equally justified flak from their opposition allies for not putting their money where their mouth is. A rather uncomfortable position for Janša, who only a year ago was the prime minister of this country, held the EU presidency and fancies himself a statesman deluxe. So SDS is simply trying to sit this one out, which speaks volumes, considering that when the text of the agreement finally became public, the word “high treason” was applied liberally.

We are witnessing nothing short of an identity crisis on the rightwing of the Slovenian political spectrum.

On the other hand, as things stand now, the coalition and PM Borut Pahor are enjoying a rare moment of partnership bliss in what was an altogether rather turbulent first year during which the coalition often seemed to have degraded into a barely-tolerated cohabitation.

It turns out that the agreement, which, by the way has yet to be ratified by Slovenia, – but which may possibly be ratified after a consultative non-binding referendum is called by the government – stipulates that countries can reach an agreement at any time until the arbitrage court rules on the issue. It seems that neither Ljubljana nor Zagreb is wasting time. At the time of writing this article, the justice ministers of both countries were to discuss mediation on the border dispute, and hopeful noises were made by Minister Aleš Zalar (on Twitter, of all places!) that the dispute could actually be settled before the arbitrage court commences its work. After which, Croatia could sign its EU accession treaty, presumably some time in 2011.

And thus, we come full circle to our opening sentence. In 2009, annus horribilis for many a country in the world is drawing to a close, governments in Slovenia and Croatia have little to show for themselves. However, if they could (somehow, possibly) solve this dispute, their stock would soar. This is especially true now, when good news is as rare as survivors of Chuck Norris’ roundhouse kick (to quote a popular internet fad). At any rate, the arbitrage agreement not only has the potential to actually start solving the dispute, but can also radically alter the Slovenian (and, one would suspect) Croatian political landscape. No wonder so many are trying to kill it with everything they’ve got.

POLITICS 11 the expectations according to party politics, if certain legal experts had not raised concerns over the agreement. One was a reputable law professor Miro Cerar, who said that Slovenia had reduced its claims to the minimum and that the country would have to gain help from foreign international law experts in case of arbitration.

Cerar also claims a regular majority may not be enough to deal with such a crucial act, and suggested that the coalition should try and reach a broad consensus on the agreement in parliament rather than submit it to a referendum, which the government proposed to verify its decision.

The way of referendum

Foreig n Mi n ister Sa muel Zbogar presented the referendum motion as the government’s right to seek the opinion of the citizens on such an important question. With the motion, the government has beaten the opposition to calling a referendum. The important difference is that the opposition has sought a legislative referendum, which would be held after the motion is passed in parliament. In announcing the motion, the coalition said that it makes more sense for the people to decide on the arbitration agreement before it is voted on in parliament. Another difference is that the consultative referendum is not binding on parliament like a legislative referendum, but Žbogar said that this will not reduce its importance. He expects the decision to be fully respected.

To simplify the question, the government deleted passages from the agreement that were included in the question proposed by coalition officials last week. The government proposes that the people be asked: “Do you agree that the arbitration agreement for the settlement of the border between Slovenia and Croatia signed in Stockholm on 4 November be implemented?”

Additionally, the government has proposed that the full wording of the arbitration agreement be published in the media and at polling stations as part of the referendum campaign. The opposition was dissatisfied with the government motion. The Democratic Party (SDS) said the logical step would be to ask people before the agreement was signed, but now the only logical step would be a legislative referendum.

IEDC Presidents’ Forum

Learn from Hidden Champions When you next go shopping or negotiating, hoping for a substantial discount as a result of the current financial crisis, you should probably consider these words: “In times of crises, a lower price does not necessarily lead to higher sales and there are many better options than simply cutting prices.”

By Simon Demšar

T

his was just one of the statements, made by Professor Hermann Simon at the Annual Presidents’ Forum at the IEDC-Bled School of Management, now officially recognised as one of the 100 most influential leadership and business schools in the world.

The gathering The gathering of more than 130 presidents and members of management and supervisory boards, general managers of companies and other institutions, and other high-level guests from 15 countries was opened by the President of Slovenia, Danilo Türk.

He initially joked (or not) that the forum is more productive than the United Nations presidential forum. “With so many different interests at the UN event it is difficult to reach any conclusions, while I am always looking forward to the Bled event with its many excellent speakers who represent the leading thinking in Europe and globally.”

In his opening address, he stressed that it would be a shame to miss the opportunity for reforms, especially in the light of the ageing population in Slovenia. “The question is not just about economic reforms but deeper

structural reforms. We currently lack global leadership and we need leaders in many areas, not just at the highest levels,” said Türk.

Prof. Danica Purg, President of the IEDC, c o m pl e m e n t e d h i m when she said that more attention needs to be paid to the development of responsible leaders who are connected with a broader environment.

Talking the crisis Professor Simon focused on beating the crisis in the first part of his lecture; he presented the newest approaches to corporate performance management in the times of global economic crisis as well as the factors of sustainable success. He emphasized that the current crisis has to be fought both on the revenue and the cost fronts; however, we need to avoid cutting prices, saving money in the fields of R&D, laying-off qualified people and reducing activities with direct impact on sales. As possible “quick solutions,” he mentioned changing customer needs, sales and the sales force, and unusual offers.

The star speaker – Prof. Hermann Simon.

Further on, he spoke about the “hidden champions of the 21st century,” i.e. globally successful, but rather unknown companies.

According to Prof. Simon, the key success factors of these companies are rapid growth, market leadership, massive innovations, closeness to their customers and best competitors, and simultaneous narrow specialization and global reach. Hidden champions profit from crises and represent true models of leadership beyond the crisis. He also emphasized that, historically, the greatest innovations appeared in times of crises, which gives the popular phrase that “the crisis is an opportunity” a practical dimension.

The Presidents’ Forum also featured a panel discussion led by a renowned professor of finance, James C. Ellert, in which three business leaders exchanged their views on the crisis.

Podpisi k slikama: The forum gathered 130 representatives from 15 countries. They were addressed by the President of Slovenia, Danilo Türk.

December 2009

12

Economy

FACTS AND FIGURES

source: STA, Slovenian Press Agency

Light At the End of the Tunnel?

Indeed, it seems that the worst is over for the battered economy and that the next couple of years will see some positive, albeit weak, economic growth. As for the whole of the eurozone, the European Commission forecasts a recovery for Slovenia in 2010 and 2011, when the country’s economy is to grow by 1.3% and 2.0%, respectively. This year, however, will be bleaker; the Commission expects the GDP to shrink by 7.4%.

The Commission’s report says that Slovenia has been the hardest hit economy in the eurozone

However, exports are expected to get Slovenia out of the recession. Tentative signs of stabilisation have already become apparent as the economies of Slovenia’s main trade partners begin to grow again, propelled along by domestic stimulus packages. Nobody knows, however, what will happen when the fiscal stimuli have run their course. Debates are raging in economic circles whether the recession will be V-shaped, i.e. that the downturn will be followed by a strong pickup in economic growth, or L-shaped, with a long period of sluggish growth after the bottom has been reached.

What happens to exports, the engine of Slovenia’s economy, will be crucial. Economists suggest that the country should curb wage growth in order to remain competitive on the global stage. “Given Unprecedented public finances deficit, in % of GDP

Which shape for the recession? economic growth and export growth, y-o-y, in % Source: SURS

18

by the global crisis along with Ireland, followed

by Finland and Slovakia. The country has seen an abrupt downturn caused foremost by a slump in trade due to “...Slovenia’s very high degree of openness.”

10

2005

Source: SURS

Taking the definition of an economic recession, two consecutive quarters of negative growth, and turning it on its head, one could say that Slovenia has emerged out of the slump. The country’s economy grew by 1% in the third quarter of 2009, which makes the second consecutive quarter of growth after two negative ones.

On the annual level, Slovenia’s GDP is still down 8.3%, however.

2006

2008

-6

2009*

-14 2010*

-22

2007 Q1

2009 Q3

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

* European Commission forecast

2007

0

Finance minister Križanič and his boss Borut Pahor will have to start cutting public expenditure sooner rather than later

the openness of the Slovenian economy, maintaining competitiveness by bringing wage growth in line with productivity improvements would help ensure a healthy recovery,” the Commission advises.

However, it is not exactly clear from where the demand for Slovenian exports should come. The country’s most important trading partners, such as Germany, Italy and Croatia, are deeply mired in troubles of their own. The government is doing its best to support the economy with a fiscal boost, but this will dissipate sooner or later. Soon no money will be left to spend. With tax revenues falling and the inability to raise taxes in the middle of the recession, the deficit will have to be cut sooner rather than later.

According to Franc Križanič, the finance minister, Slovenia will strive to cut its budget by 0.75 percentage points annually. In line with the European Commission’s estimates, Slovenian total government deficit will stand at 6.3% this year and 7% next year. It seems that Slovenes will have to put up with lower wages and lower spending on social programmes for the foreseeable future.

Wealth

Logistics

Telecommunications

Luka Koper Breaks a Record

Simobil Nine-Month Tuš Still the Richest Profit Almost Halved Retail magnate Mirko Tus continues to

The Port of Koper saw a record monthly container transshipment in October, as the cranes in Slovenia’s sole maritime port loaded or unloaded a total of 34,685 container units. Port operator Luka Koper has attributed the record to investments in the last period. The total transshipment in the first ten months of 2009 meanwhile stood at 280,349 container units, which is 5% less than in the same period last year, and 5% more than planned.

The Slovenia Times

Slovenia’s second largest mobile operator Simobil recorded a profit of EUR 18.3m in the first nine months of 2009, which is a fall of 41.9% year-on-year. The number of the company’s users increased, but the revenues were 3.1% lower and stood at EUR 136.6m, Simobil’s parent company Telekom Austria reported. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA) fell by 25% year-on-year to EUR 35.4m, which is the result of lower revenues, which the company partially compensated by lowering operative expenses.

reign as the wealthiest Slovenian even though his fortune decreased by more than a third (38.1%) to EUR 360.6m from last year, according a survey by the Manager magazine. This year’s list of top 100 includes a third of newcomers. Investment gurus Igor Lah and Darko Horvat retained their second and third places respectively.

However, Lah’s fortune was down 3.8% to EUR 240.7m, while Horvat’s assets more than halved to EUR 112.1m.

Banks

New Board Takes Over at NLB The new management board of NLB is assuming office on 1 December, bringing to an end a months-long staffing crisis at Slovenia’s top bank. The five-member board was put forward by new chairman Bozo Jasovic and confirmed by the supervisory board on 19 October. It has one member less than the previous board. Jasovic proposed the nomination of David Benedek and Belgian KBC representative Claude Deroose, who will be joined by Robert Kleindienst and Marko Jazbec. NLB, reported EUR 12.5m in pre-tax profit at the level of the group for the first nine months of the year. The parent bank generated EUR 57.2m in pre-tax profit in the period.

13 Pharmaceuticals

Lehman collapse

Real estate

Retailers

Krka Says NineMonth Revenues, Profit Flat

Central Bank Exposed to Lehman Bros

Fall of Flat Prices Stops in Q3

Banks to Sell Stakes in Mercator

Pharma group Krka reported little change in its revenues and profit for the first three quarters of 2009 compared to the same period a year earlier. Revenues for the nine months stood at EUR 690m, up around EUR 2m, whereas profit was down by around EUR 2m to EUR 109m. Krka chairman Joze Colaric said revenues have been affected by currency fluctuations in Eastern Europe. Krka could have generated 10% more in revenues without changes in exchange rates.

The Slovenian central bank confirmed that its total exposure to toxic stock of the bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers amounts to EUR 54.1m.

Daily Dnevnik reported today that the central bank is not the only Slovenian financial institution exposed to Lehman Brother’s failure. It said that the total amount of claims by Slovenian financial institutions is said to stand at EUR 115m.

The average price of a square metre of an apartment in Slovenia remained virtually flat in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the quarter earlier, dropping by EUR 5 to EUR 1,660, according to the Surveying and Mapping Authority.

In an annual comparison, a square metre was 10% cheaper. The quarterly drop stopped above all owing to a rise in Slovenia’s two largest cities, Ljubljana and Maribor. In Ljubljana prices of flats went up by 5%, which equals the drop in the second quarter.

A group of banks, which together own 21.08% of Mercator, have started a process to sell their shares in Slovenia’s largest retailer. The group comprises UniCredit, Gorenjska banka, Abanka, NKBM, Banka Koper and Hypo Alpe Adria. According to Arkas, the company coordinating the sale, the group is not planning to exercise management rights stemming from the joint ownership of over 20% of the retailer.

Energy

Petrol Eyeing Croatian Crobenz

R&D

R&D Spending Up by 23%

Slovenian energy company Petrol has expressed interest in talks on a possible acquisition of Crobenz, a small fuel retailer belonging to Croatian oil group Ina. Petrol is the second biggest fuel retailer in Croatia, while expansion plans have been mentioned in all strategic documents of the company so far.

Crobenz has 14 petrol stations, while it also rents a liquid fuel storage facility in Zagreb, which is owned by Bosnia’s Energoinvest.

Media estimates put the value of each station at between EUR 1m and EUR 1.5m.

A total of EUR 616.9m was spent in Slovenia in 2008 for research and development (R&D), which was 1.66% of the country’s GDP and 23% more than a year before, the Statistics Office said in a report.

Most of the R&D spending was by businesses, the office added.

Slovenian companies contributed EUR 387.5m, which was 63% of the total spending for R&D, whereas the state earmarked EUR 193.1m or 31%, show the data published by the Statistics Office on Friday.

Bottoming out? second-hand houses and apartment price index, 2005 = 100 180 142 124 106 88 70 Q1_03

Q3-09

Telecommunications

Telekom Slovenije 9Month Profit Halved National telco Telekom Slovenije saw its profit fall 55% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2009 to EUR 34.1m. Operating revenues of the group for the same period were flat at EUR 637m, the group said.

The group added that its profit was also affected by the unpaid liabilities of several alternative providers of communication services, which it estimates at EUR 12m

Economy

Protest for Higher Minimum Wage A sea of people fillled the main square in Slovenia’s capital to demand a higher minimum wage and to protest against the government’s plan to raise the full retirement age.

Trade union representatives urged the government to heed the call for solidarity or face an even greater backlash. The protesters demanded an increase in the net minimum wage by around 40% to EUR 600 and the scrapping of plans to raise the full retirement age to 65 as part of structural reforms being drawn up by the government.

Hauliers Reduce Fleet by 10% Slovenian hauliers have had to cut back their truck fleet by 10% this year as the economic slowdown has impacted significantly on business.

Business was down by up to 30%.

The downturn in the sector is being reflected in a drop in the number of newly-registered vehicles. While the number of new vehicles was on the rise in the first half of 2008, there has been a marked drop in registrations this year. Some months saw a drop of 80-90% compared to last year.

IT

Decline In Computer Sales Continues

Inflation at 0.9% in November Trade unions

Logistics

Consumer prices in Slovenia rose by an average 0.9% in November, bringing the annual inflation rate to 1.6%, the Statistics Office said.

Higher prices of fuels and energy (0.4 percentage points), municipal services (0.3 points), food (nearly 0.2 point), and clothing and footwear (0.1 points) contributed the most to inflation in November.

Slightly less than 50,000 personal computers were sold in Slovenia in the third quarter this year, a 20.6% decrease over the same period last year. According to data by the IDC market research and analysis firm, this means a continuation of a trend that began this year. While a 27.9% drop was recorded in the laptop segment, the decline was less pronounced in the sale of desktop computers, which was down 9.8%.

The Festive Season Discounts – Real Bargains

Translation, Consecutive Interpreting, Proofreading Experts on Technical, Legal, Medical and Other Texts GRAH PREVODI, s.p., Užiška ulica 6, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia T: +386 (0)31 731 006, E: info@grahprevodi.com, www.grahprevodi.com December 2009

14 ECONOMY

Energy

Sparkling with Ambition Nobody wants to be left out in the cold. It is therefore more than fitting that Slovenia and Russian energy giant Gazprom would come to the agreement on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline through the country’s territory just before winter. Slovenia, however, is keeping its options open; massive investment in new energy infrastructure is planned in the next couple of decades.

Not everybody is enthusiastic. Critics say that Slovenian involvement in this EUR 20 bn project led jointly by Italy’s ENI and Gazprom will only increase the country’s dependence on Russian gas.

The Slovenia Times

against those that want to diversify not just the routes by which Russian gas flows to Europe, but also the sources of gas itself.

Streaming Although natural gas accounts for only around 14 percent of Slovenia’s energy needs, industry de-

pends on it for more than a third of its final energy consumption.

Natural gas is the second most important energy source, almost on par with electricity. Given that manufacturing is the pillar upon which the country’s export-driven economy rests, any supply disruptions are viewed with the utmost

Balanced Slovenia’s gross domestic energy consumption Solid fuels 19,8 %

Gas 14,6 %

Hydro 3,3 % Renewables 6,9 % Oil and derivatives 36,1 % Nuclear 19,2 %

Source: Ministry of Economy

A

fter the main points of contention between both sides – ownership structure of the company managing the Slovenian offshoot of the South Stream pipeline (it will be split in two equal halves between Gazprom and Slovenian companies) and its tax status (no preferences) – had been resolved, there were no further obstacles to the agreement. Admittedly, the details concerning the pipeline route and its capacity (presumably somewhere in the region between five and eight bn m3 per year) will be decided only in 2011; it is now clear, however, that Russians will be supplying gas to the huge Italian market through Slovenia.

Not everybody is enthusiastic.

Critics say that Slovenian involvement in this EUR 20 bn project led jointly by Italy’s ENI and Gazprom will only increase the country’s dependence on Russian gas. This issue dominates energy security debates in the European Union as a whole, pitting supporters of tighter energy links with Russia

ECONOMY 15 concern by managers and policy makers alike.

Sout h St rea m w i l l by pass Ukraine, bringing gas from Russia under the Black Sea and then through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary to an Austrian gas hub serving the wider region. The Slovene offshoot would link South Stream to Italy, Europe’s largest gas consumer. Not only would Slovenia be able to collect transit fees, its gas supplies would no longer be hostage to pricing disputes between Ukraine and Russia.

Hot ashes Slovenia produces a little less than a third of its electricity from renewable sources; the nation’s biggest rivers, the Drava and Sava, are dotted with hydro power plants, with new ones being planned. Yet the biggest investment in the country’s electricity generation capacity in the coming years will be the construction of a new block for the Šoštanj coalfired power plant, Slovenia’s largest, due to come on line in 2015.

Worth about EUR 1 bn, the project will be financed by the state, without relying on foreign investors.

In light of the fact that Slovenia is lagging behind its Kyoto targets for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, some experts say that more should be invested in renewable energy sources. However, having the South Stream gas pipeline crossing the country, it also makes sense to invest in gas-fired power plants. By 2015, Verbund, an Austrian energy company will build one in the northeast of the country.

Nuclear option Still, much coal is burned in thermo-power plants around

Slovenia and plans to install new capacity are already under way.

However, by establishing the price the companies have to pay for each ton of CO2 emissions, the EU’s emissions trading scheme has put a lid on the amount of CO2 that power plants can afford to pump into the atmosphere. That makes nuclear power an attractive alternative; nuclear power plants are not as CO2-intensive as coal-fired ones and they use uranium, a fuel that is not going to run out any time soon.

Gen Energija, the state-owned operator of Slovenia’s only nuclear power plant in Krško, has recognized the opportunity and is planning to invest around EUR 3.5 bn in the construction of a second nuclear reactor of the plant.

In contrast to the Šoštanj thermopower plant, however, the government will not finance the whole project itself; it is already searching for foreign partners. Because nuclear power is relatively cheap once the plant is up and running, presumably by the end of the next decade, some experts point out that the state will be giving up a part of the nuclear dividend if it divides the ownership of the new plant between itself and another operator.

Too much of a good thing?

If all the above-mentioned projects are completed, Slovenia will shift from being an importer to being an exporter of energy, especially electricity. Yet observers warn that underinvestment in transmission and distribution networks, not to mention interconnection with neighbouring countries, in recent decades will make it difficult for Slovenian

energy companies to capitalize on their new role. Policy makers thus know very well on what the next investment cycle should be focused.

As Slovenia and Russia celebrate the South Stream agreement as a means of binding them closer together, there are many who worry about the Russian embrace becoming too tight for comfort. Italy and Croatia are both building liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on their coasts, giving themselves a chance to tap the global LNG market that is not unlike the global oil market. Slovenia, however, seems determined to stick with Russian gas. At a time when energy is increasingly becoming a scarce good and investors such as Germany’s TGE are willing to invest in LNG on the country’s coast, that is not necessarily a good policy.

Criss crossing the continent

Hydro power plants cover almost a third of Slovenia’s electricity demand

In light of the fact that Slovenia is lagging behind its Kyoto targets for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, some experts say that more should be invested in renewable energy sources. However, having the South Stream gas pipeline crossing the country, it also makes sense to invest in gasfired power plants.

Beregovaja

ITALY

SERBIA Varna

GREECE Proposed Nabucco gas pipeline Proposed South Stream gas pipeline Suggested Serbian South Stream route

Source: wikipedia

Gen Energija, the state-owned operator of Slovenia’s only nuclear power plant in Krško, has recognized the opportunity and is planning to invest around EUR 3.5 bn in the construction of a second nuclear reactor of the plant.

December 2009

16 ECONOMY

FDI Award Slovenia 2009

And the Winners Are ...

For the fourth year in a row, The Slovenia Times and the Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (JAPTI) have chosen the two best foreign direct investments (FDI) in Slovenia. This year, the awards went to Austrian companies Wolford and XAL; their investments in the crisisstricken Pomurje region are expected to create more than 400 new jobs.

By Maja Dragović

Talking FDI (from left): Bahaa Abdallah (Iskraemeco) Franjo Bobinac (Gorenje Group) Darja Radič (Ministry for Economy) Peter Kraljič (McKinsey & Company) Marjan Svetličič (Faculty of Social Sciences) Marko Vuković (The Slovenia Times)

T

he awards ceremony, complete with enian musicians playing Bizet’s Carmen, were preceded by an exciting round table discussion about the current business climate for investors, which was attended by some leading experts in the field, including Peter Kraljič of the McKinsey & Company consultancy group.

Not attractive enough The significance of the FDI awards soon became clear as the

round table discussion took off.

The problems of investing in Slovenia vary and were highlighted from different perspectives at the round table – consultants, professors, CEOs of multinational companies and foreign investors all took a part in the debate.

Kraljič argued that the general business climate in Slovenia is poor; regarding business efficiency, the country is in the bottom half for out of 57 countries polled.

In contrast, Franjo Bobinac, CEO

of Gorenje, one of Slovenia’s biggest companies, suggested high taxes put investors off. This is also one of the reasons why Gorenje has moved some of its production to Serbia and the Czech Republic where, according to him, tax incentives for FDI are more favourable.

Mr Bahan Eldin Abdullah, chief financial officer at Iskraemeco, also singled out the high cost of labour, saying that latest reports suggest Slovenia has the highest

Inward FDI 16000

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12000

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After the debate, ballerinas took over the stage The Slovenia Times

1992

2008

ECONOMY 17 The winners of the 4th annual FDI awards were XAL (Xenon Architectural Lighting) and Wolford, both from Austria.

Together they employ 320 people in Slovenia, and their combined investment is worth over EUR 8 m.

The winners: Alois Gether of Wolford (left) and Michael Engel of XAL

social contributions in Europe, making gross wages and costs to the employer much higher than elsewhere.

The panellists agreed that there are also some “soft factors” that affect the low level of FDI. Marjan Svetličič, professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana, suggested there is a general misconception by the Slovenes that foreign investors crowd out local investors.

Multinationalty matters There may be a low level of FDI, but the Slovenean economy has grown regardless and “...we mustn’t forget that Slovenia also invests abroad, which speaks for the strength of our economy,” said Kraljič. He asserted that a positive sign for Slovenia is that it has more outflows than inflows.

Mr Svetličič agreed, adding that when FDI is compared to Sloveni-

an multinational companies, the differences disappear. Supporting the expansion of Slovenia’s companies abroad is especially important since companies cannot survive in small countries.

It was concluded, however, that Slovenia cannot promote the tion internationalization of its companies and discourage foreign investment at the same time. Furthermore, the government needs to introduce policies that support 100 more foreign investment.

The government representa95 tive at the table, Darja Radič, State Secretary at the Ministry 75 of Economy, had a lot of explaining to do. Agreeing there is still a lot that needs to be done, Radič 25 emphasised that the government is working on resolving some of 5 in the the problems mentioned discussion. Although there are 0 currently no tax incentives specifically for FDI, the government

has introduced tax relief measures for research and development as well as a special tax relief for the underdeveloped Pomurje region ,that, the government hopes, will stimulate foreign companies to invest there.

Franjo Bobinac, CEO of Gorenje, one of Slovenia’s biggest companies, suggested high taxes put investors off. This is also one of the reasons why Gorenje has moved some of its production to Serbia and the Czech Republic where, according to him, tax incentives for FDI are more favourable.

continued on page 18

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December 2009

continued from page 17

Thinking about the future As the discussion drew to a close, the panellists moved away from analysing problems to looking to the future. Being a highcost country, Slovenia is not high on the ladder of attractiveness for manufacturing. Thus, it was suggested that it should increasingly opt for different types of FDI, such as tourism, health, or education.

Another possibility for Slovenia is to become a centre for holding companies operating in the Balkan countries, possibly introducing specific tax havens for holding companies.

One could get a sense that the brain-storming could have gone on forever. Aut after more than an hour of vigorous debate, it was time to mellow the senses. The panel was removed, the music was set and a ballerina came out.

The hard world of tax incentives, business expansions and high labour costs seemed miles away.

The stage for the winners of the evening was set.

Serious commitment

Special yearly issue bringing you the best in investment opportunities, economic success stories and top life style choices.

COMING IN JANUARY 2010 For further information contact: Tel.: +386 59 045 003, marketing@sloveniatimes.com, www.sloveniatimes.com

The number of foreign investors may be small, but those who are in Slovenia have made serious longterm investments; their commitment has to be recognised.

The winners of the 4th annual FDI awards were XAL (Xenon Architectural Lighting) and Wolford, both from Austria. Together they employ 320 people in Slovenia, and their combined investment is worth over EUR 8 m. Interestingly, their main investments are in Pomurje, where not many Sloveni-

Organizers

an companies have found interest to operate so far.

XAL is a fast-growing company from Graz that specialises in manufacturing illumination and lighting systems for shops, offices, hotels and other spaces. The company has operations around the world and the expansion of its production into Slovenia’s northeastern region of Pomurje is of a particular importance for the country. The region is one of the most under-developed, and the company’s investment of EUR 1.5 mllion and creation of 50 jobs is a great boost to the region.

In less than a year, XAL has invested additional EUR 2.5 m in production halls; the expansion of the company’s facilities means that 100 new jobs will be created over the next three years.

“We have had great support from local authorities. We are thankful to JAPTI as well; their support enabled us to act quickly”, said Michael Engel of XAL, upon receiving the award.

Wolford, the second winner, is also from Graz and is a famous international hosiery brand, selling its product in over 60 countries around the world. Its investment in Slovenia is worth EUR 4.6 ms, going into the production of highend ladies’ hosiery in Murska Sobota, the administrative centre of Pomurje. This is company’s first investment in a factory outside Austria. The number of new jobs is expected to reach 170 over the next three years which should further help to improve the economic development of the region.

“We have invested in Pomurje where we find motivated people, quality thinking and a good proximity to Austria”, said Alois Gether of Wolford.

Partner

Communication Partner

ECONOMY 19

Interview: Igor Plestenjak

Attracting Foreigners For eastern European countries, the transition from the socialist to market economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s brought huge inflows of capital from the West. Slovenia was one of the few former socialist states that wanted to prevent strategic businesses from being acquired by foreigners. However, the so-called greenfield and brownfield investments have always been welcomed and promoted in Slovenia by the Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (JAPTI). We talked to its director, Igor Plestenjak.

By Luka Vodopivec How does FDI benefit Slovenian economy?

FDI is beneficial to the Slovenian economy in various ways. It mostly provides new jobs, transfers of knowledge and technology, and enhanced cooperation of investors with Slovenian science and research companies and institutes. FDI can also contribute to more balanced regional development and induce delivery and exchange of knowledge and technology. The productivity of Slovenian firms can grow with the help of FDI because it brings in new global knowledge and technology, which can help in accessing new markets. The company – or even the entire sector – can consequentially become more competitive.

What have been the biggest FDIs in Slovenia in recent years?

The record year for FDIs in Slovenia was 2002 when more than EUR 1.7 bn were invested in the Slovenian economy, mostly as a result of FDI in the pharmaceutical company Lek and the country’s biggest bank, NLB. In the following four years, FDI was significantly smaller: between EUR 270 m and EUR 665 m, annually.

In 2007, it again exceeded EUR 1 bn. By the end of 2008, Slovenia had accumulated around EUR 11 bn of FDI.

The biggest foreign investors in Slovenia come from the EU countries such as Austria, Switzerland, Holland, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium. They mostly invest in the field of finance, chemistry, retail, engineering, telecommunications and some other business services. To be more concrete: the biggest FDI in Slovenia are Novartis, Carthago, Erste Bank, DSV, Renault, BSH Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte and Raiffeisen Bank and, of course, this year’s FDI award winners: Xenon architectural lighting and Wolford.

What role does JAPTI play in stimulating foreign investments?

JAPTI plays a multiple role. We provide services for foreign investors from the earliest phase of deciding where the investment will take place. We provide all the information and counselling when the investment takes place and we also follow the investor in the so-called post-investment period.

The agency also actively promotes Slovenia as a suitable place for FDI with various marketing approaches. Every year, JAPTI publishes a draft for stimulating FDI by cofinancing certain costs of investment that create new jobs. The agency also analyses Slovenia’s competitive position as a location for investments and recommends

FDI flows as % of GDP, 10-year average 10

What kind of business environment are foreign investors searching for?

If we judge according to the UNCTAD index of potential for attracting FDI, Slovenia does not have a problem in this regard, as it is consistently around the 30th place out of 141 countries.

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measures for improving its position. In the light of this year’s economic crisis, the agency developed a program for companies with foreign or mixed capital with the goal of enhancing new investments and creating new jobs.

Brazil

Czech Republic Estonia

Hungary

Poland

Slovakia

Slovenia

Which business sectors in Slovenia are in need of FDI? The appropriate question that we need to ask ourselves is which sectors are strong and competitive enough at all to attract foreign investors. The last survey on Slovenia’s competitiveness showed that these sectors are food and bever-

age production, chemicals and chemical products, pharmaceutical raw goods and preparations, rubber, plastics and metal products.

Companies that produce electrical devices, machinery and motor vehicles are also attractive.

According to the UNCTAD index of potential for attracting FDI, Slovenia does not have a problem in this regard, as it is consistently around the 30th place out of 141 countries.

December 2009

20 ECONOMY

Interview: Gregor Veselko

Into Stormy Waters Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia’s only international port in the coastal town of Koper, is the most important pillar of the country’s logistics sector. With world economy flailing, trade volumes have plunged, hurting logistics companies on all continents. Yet Gregor Veselko, president of the management board of Luka Koper, says that the Slovenian port will come out of the crisis stronger than ever; investment in new infrastructure is paying off, while things are starting to look better on the economic front.

By Marko Vuković

We have a diversified portfolio of port and logistics services that we can offer our customers; we do not rely on a particular type of cargo for our business, so we have been weathering the crisis relatively well.

The Slovenia Times

We have seen the crisis hit international trade pretty hard. No wonder then that the port of Koper has been suffering too; throughput volumes and revenue are down.

It is not at all surprising that the port has been feeling the effects of the crisis. We can observe the same trends of falling throughput and revenues in ports all around the world; it’s hard to expect something else in an environment where everybody is suddenly cutting their demand and production.

What are you doing to counter these trends?

What is important here is that we compare quite well to other ports in the region. We have a di-

versified portfolio of port and logistics services that we can offer our customers; we do not rely on a particular type of cargo for our business, so we have been weathering the crisis relatively well. Our container terminal registered a decline of only six percent in the first nine months of 2009; other ports have experienced much steeper falls. Obviously, we have been exploiting our excellent geostrategic position very well.

Some observers point out that Luka Koper has not been exactly successful when it comes to controlling costs. Could that hurt profits?

When the times were good and the world economy was boom-

ing, the port was doing very good business. Previous management was therefore not focused enough on cost control. Our labour costs are rather high; we have a strong union that has been able to negotiate an attractive wage deal. In addition, our amortization costs have increased, not to mention the fact that we have to pay more to the state for the concession to run the port.

The government has recently presented plans that would allow the port to grow bigger by more than a third. What does that mean for Luka Koper?

The expansion would allow us to set up new facilities for handling of the more profitable cargo,

ECONOMY 21 Not so bad port of Koper throughput, in million tons

Containers

13500

Source: SURS

Total

9000

4500

0

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009* * January-June

such as cars and containers. That would increase the port’s competitiveness. It is true that a part of the local community doesn’t want the expansion to proceed. The worries that a bigger port would mean more pollution are understandable. Yet our ambition is to focus on cleaner cargo, reducing the environmental impact of the port’s operations.

You are in the middle of an intensive investment cycle.

That’s correct. In Romania, we have opened two terminals, one for containers, and one for other types of cargo. One of the more remarkable investments, however, has certainly been the setting up of four new post-panamax type of cranes, allowing us to load and unload the biggest ships that sail the seas today. In this case, you can see how the investment has made the port more competitive almost immediately; container throughput in October was the biggest in the history of the port.

being the region’s entry point for Brazilian biofuels. However, not much came of this, as talks with Brazilians were put on hold. Now we are trying to revive them.

Egyptian fruit exporters have discovered that they can most efficiently export their wares to che Central European markets through the port of Koper. Do you still intend to take over the operation of the fruit terminal in the port of Alexandrias port?

We were almost there, but the tender was later cancelled, because Egyptian authorities weren’t satisfied with the way it was handled. They have now prepared a new tender and we have again expressed our interest in working closely with the port of Alexandria. We should know more by the end of the year.

Recently, three northern Adriatic ports – Koper, Croatia’s Rijeka and Italia’s Trieste –made a

joint presentation at a logistics fair in Munich. Do you see closer cooperation between the ports in the future?

We are already working together in an informal grouping, promoting the northern Adriatic as an attractive location for the entry of goods destined not only for the regional market, but also the markets of whe Western Europe. One has to be aware of the fact that even if we take all three ports together, they cannot compare in size to one big port in the north of Europe such as Hamburg or Rotterdam. So I think we will not have to fight for cargo, there will be enough of it for all northern Adriatic ports.

Links with its hinterland are important for every port. How has Luka Koper dealt with increased throughput? We know that there is only one railway track linking Koper with the rest of the country.

It is very important that the goods flow smoothly from the port on to their destination markets. This year we haven’t had problems with that; however, throughput has fallen because of the recession. In 2008, one of the boom years, we have had some troubles with the congested rail link. It is expected that the railway track Koper-Divača will be upgraded by 2012 and the second one built by 2015.

What do you think about the idea of a Slovenian logistics holding which would be comprised of Luka Koper, Slovenian Railways and Ljubljana’s airport?

This idea has not been worked out in sufficient detail, so I cannot say much about it.

In Romania, we have opened two terminals, one for containers, and one for other types of cargo. One of the more remarkable investments, however, has certainly been the setting up of four new post-panamax type of cranes, allowing us to load and unload the biggest ships that sail the seas today.

One has to be aware of the fact that even if we take all three ports together, they cannot compare in size to one big port in the north of Europe such as Hamburg or Rotterdam. So I think we will not have to fight for cargo, there will be enough of it for all northern Adriatic ports.

Many companies have been complaining that banks have not been forthcoming with loans. Do you feel the credit crunch?

No; Luka Koper has excellent relationships with its banks. They understand our ambitions and are prepared to support them. One thing we have noticed, however, is that banks demand much more documentation than before.

In the future, biofuels will play an increasingly important role in powering transport. Do you see Luka Koper becoming the region’s entry point for biofuels?

As far as liquids are concerned, we have successfully concluded negotiations with our Japanese partner, the Mitsubishi conglomerate, on the supply of industrial alcohols. They will start arriving in 2010, as soon as the reservoirs are ready.

As you may be aware, there has been a lot of talk about Luka Koper

Post-panamax size ships can now be loaded and unloaded in the port; in October a record number of containers passed through it December 2009

22 REAL ESTATE

Credit crunch in real estate

Believe the Hype Banks have tightened credit and become very risk averse. Does that mean that it is simply impossible to obtain a loan to finance a real estate project? Miloš Vignjević, Head of Real Estate & Project Finance at UniCredit Slovenija gives his views on circumstances on the real-estate market and its outlook.

By Carlos Silva gone and reality has set in.

Exactly. People seeking an apartment without any investment motivation were rushed to buy as soon as possible, since a delay of a year on the purchase could cost them many thousand euros. The rush for apartments was frenetic and, as confirmed, unsustainable.

This has changed dramatically. People are waiting and delaying their purchases, seeking better deals at better prices. Today, it takes a seller much more time to sell a property, as buyers are much more selective and less impulsive.

The crisis has forced banks and real estate developers to face new challenges.

On the one hand, banks suddenly lack of funds to borrow to lenders and on the other, real estate developers who have new apartments ready to sell are not able to do so. The statistics says that as many as 24,000 apartments were under construction in 2008 and around 10.000 should be completed in 2009. As a consequence, the market has a large inventory of new apartments ready to be sold but there are no customers willing or able to buy.

People are waiting and delaying their purchases, seeking better deals at better prices. Today, it takes a seller much more time to sell a property, as buyers are much more selective and less impulsive.

From 2003 to 2008, the real estate market in Slovenia boomed extraordinarily. Why? During those golden years, people were buying pretty much anything on the market; price per square meter was not much dependent on the location, quality of the apartment or other characteristics, which are now highly relevant. They knew that if they didn’t buy it, someone else would in a matter of weeks or sometimes days. People were buying fast because the market was growing fast. The prices of real estate were rising at a rate above 10-20% on a year-on-year basis. Imagine buying an apartment today for EUR 100,000 and selling it for EUR 20,000 more a year later!

It seems that everybody was in kind of a rush. Now the rush is

The Slovenia Times

Why is there such a lack of buyers?

There are several reasons why people are not purchasing apartments. They are now more afraid of losing their jobs due to the recent rise in unemployment; they feel less comfortable committing to such an investment. Secondly, the speculation and idea that prices will fall even further is making potential buyers delay their purchases. Thirdly and equally important, banks have severely tightened their credit policies, making it harder and more expensive to request a loan. Some banks are only willing to finance 60-70% of the value of the property. Before, banks were willing to finance as much as 100% of the value of the real estate depending on the financial condition of the borrower.

Is it hard to obtain financing nowadays or was it simply too easy in the past?

Certainly too easy in the past.

Until the end of 2007, the market was flooded with money. At that time, banks were fiercely competing in order to offer the best rates and attract the maximum number of investors to invest in real estate projects.

This competition for clients led banks to become loose with their risk policies in order to catch the wave of growth on the market. In fact, if a real estate investor had not obtained a loan at a certain bank under favourable conditions, he surely could have walked to the bank across the street and get the money.

For project developers with well-structured plan, banks would grant them immediate access to financing with little and, in many cases, no equity down.

Since there is a large inventory of unsold apartments on the market, will the prices for newly built complexes fall rapidly?

This is the big question. Nobody knows if the inventory is really too big; it seems that demand is still quite strong, just that buyers are delaying the purchase, speculating that prices will fall further.

Average prices are expected to show additional decline; not all prices will fall, however. Certainly the price difference between old and new apartments will become more evident. Secondly, some projects will probably maintain their price levels, especially in Ljubljana, because they are premium residential complexes. If there is something special behind a project that makes it different from other apartment complexes, people will be willing to pay more for it.

Indeed, the top locations in Ljubljana will still have high prices. I don’t expect they will dramatically change in the near future.

Top locations and top apartments will always be seen as exclusive and will therefore command high prices. In contrast, projects of inferior quality or locations will be forced to reduce their prices and target different people. continued on page 24

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24 REAL ESTATE Emonika project is the most ambitious one in the country; it ran into trouble when the city made additional demands on the developer and money became more expensive

From now on, banks will certainly be more involved with the projects they finance. We will coordinate efforts with the developers in order to make sure the project will be built and sold successfully.

continued from page 22

How can real estate developers secure a loan in these difficult times?

Location still remains the dominant decision factor. Developers, however, will have to put up much more of their own capital to make the bank feel ready to extend them

a loan for a project. Banks will cooperate only with reputable developers, who have acceptable financial standings and can bring the necessary quality into the project.

The bank will also require a detailed plan of how apartments will be sold. Some common questions: How do you plan to sell the apartments? Which target group are you aiming to sell them to? At what price? Why do you believe the project will be successful?

What difficulties might you face?

Do you have a strong marketing plan to back up the project? Who are your partners and who will help you in selling the project?

Some observers say that banks had a hands-off approach to the projects they financed, which backfired in the crisis.

From now on, banks will certainly be more involved with the projects they finance. We will coordinate efforts with the developers in order to make sure the project will be built and sold successfully. This means that we will not only finance the real estate developer, but prepare special offers for the final buyer of the project.

This is the partnership structure

that is required nowadays. Before, everything that was built was sold very easily. Today, the reality is different; banks will have to give developers a stronger support in the sales process. UniCredit has the biggest market share in mortgage loans in Slovenia and this is also one of our advantages.

Can foreign investors obtain financing in Slovenia?

Absolutely, but we will need to have a close look at the record of such an investor. We do have such cases here at UniCredit and have good experience. They approach us generally with a high equity and their projects are professionally organized and transparent.

They know what they want and they know how to do it.

In contrast, it is harder for the bank to evaluate the financial strength of a foreign company and it might take a little longer to have the funding approved. UniCredit Bank is an international bank with presence in 22 different countries.

When we need information about a foreign investor, we can easily make a phone call and obtain the necessary data in order to go forward with the project.

Has the demand for apartments in Slovenia vanished?

I do not think so… In the last public tender for social housing, the demand far exceeded the supply of flats. I believe the demand is still there but the sales of flats are lower because: • People have lost their jobs or feel insecure; • People have lost money on the stock market; • People are speculating and expecting property prices to go down; • People thought they would sell their old apartment and buy a new one, but are not able to do so; • People who could buy an apartment last year, cannot do so nowadays because the financing terms offered by banks have changed The Slovenia Times

ECONOMY 25

Mercator and Istrabenz

The Great Unravelling Istrabenz, a sprawling holding company, is facing a massive debt-restructuring plan, proposed by its creditors.

Mercator, the country’s biggest retailer, of which banks have taken sizable stakes as a consequence of debt default by its previous owner, Infond Holding, is waiting for new owners to step in. These are the latest news headlines from Slovenia’s corporate world.

By Lucija J. Millonig

R

ecently, Istrabenz was gracing the headlines when former CEO, Igor Bavčar, was arrested on suspicion of corporate crimes. Bavčar was released the same day, but the spotlight was back on Istrabenz.

Gone awry A company that grew from various investments, Istrabenz reached its breaking point when creditors came calling for the nearly EUR 1bn worth of loans the company took out in the boom years to finance its acquisitions. Declaring insolvency was just the beginning, with creditors then scrambling to get their money back.

Unlike Istrabenz, Mercator has not been linked to a recent scandal nor is it deeply indebted, although the 48% of its shares seized by banks from its one-time owners Pivovarna Laško, a brewery, and Infond Holding, have been passed around as if they were hot potatoes.

Interestingly enough, creditors are taking action into their own hands with a debt-restructuring plan for Istrabenz, proposed by shareholder and energy company Petrol, and by selling a quarter of Mercator shares with the help of an outside consultant.

Petrol takes action Petrol’s management, headed by Aleksander Svetelšek, filed a proposal to Istrabenz’s biggest creditor, the state-owned NLB bank, on a feasible debt-restructuring plan for Istrabenz.

The proposal states that all debt would be repaid by 2016. It grants Petrol full voting rights when deciding on new acquisitions and sales of current assets, such as the much discussed sell-off the tourism and food divisions. Petrol wants to establish Istrabenz as an energy company, owning gas companies Instalacija and Gen-I. The proposal would be initiated when Petrol buys out Istrabenz’s loans for an estimated EUR 330m, thereby directly infusing the holding with fresh capital. This proposal holds great risks for Pet-

rol. Bad investments and tough economic times have decreased Petrol’s capital by 31% in the last two years. So, it is still unclear if Petrol would even be able to raise the money needed to invest into Istrabenz.

Creditors are also sceptical of the proposal, since they fear that Petrol might take outright control over Istrabenz if it would obtain more than 51% of ownership during restructuring.

Sell Mercator, now!

Mercator is undergoing a restructuring of its own. Six banks initiated the process of selling a quarter of Mercator shares with the help of an outside consultant. All the banks are looking for a buyer, but they know that they will be able to get a higher selling price if the sale is in bulk rather than opting for individual deals.

The largest of the creditors vying for this option is Unicredit Bank with an 8% share. Combined, the six banks hold 36% ownership, while 17,000 smaller shareholders

own approximately the same percentage. Sources from within Mercator claim that other owners are looking to jump ship as well.

The banks are optimistic that selling a significant number of Mercator shares will be achievable, as a number of foreign investors have already expressed their interest in ownership.

Mercator, the ultimate prize: Around a quarter of the company is on sale

Suitors galore Croatian Agrokor might be a contender in purchasing the available shares, but it would probably be opposed in the light of the tense political relations between Slovenia and Croatia.

The government-owned KAD fund declared its interest in Mercator shares as well, but would not want to have a controlling share in the company. Žiga Debeljak, CEO of Mercator, initiated vendor due diligence of the past five years. A final report of Mercator’s corporate value will be released in February 2010 and will be given to current as well as to prospective new investors.

Mercator is undergoing a restructuring of its own. Six banks initiated the process of selling a quarter of Mercator shares with the help of an outside consultant. All the banks are looking for a buyer, but they know that they will be able to get a higher selling price if the sale is in bulk rather than opting for individual deals.

December 2009

26 ECONOMY

Car industry

On Hollow Ground The subsidies to recycle old cars and buy new ones have staved off a full-blown crisis in some countries. Can Slovenia’s car industry survive without fiscal boosts from European governments?

By Roman Oberč in which Slovene companies do well. By sales volume, Adria Mobil has the fourth largest market share in this segment in Europe.

The company is faring surprisingly well, considering the difficulties it must have convincing people to buy such non-essential products in these times. Still, 2008 results show a 22% drop in sales compared to 2007. This is better than their competition; the alarm bells, however, are already ringing.

Rotten eggs Some companies do not need a crisis to collapse; they can do it on their own. Prevent Global is a leading manufacturer of car seats covers in Europe. Disagreements between two major owners of the company and the slump, however, have brought the company on its knees. Prevent Global now needs a EUR 5.2 m capital increase to stay afloat. If the rift between the owners can be overcome in time, the company may just survive.

Revoz: With 8 percent of total exports, the company is the country’s biggest exporter

T

he car industry is undoubtedly among the industries that were the hardest hit by the economic crisis. The sales downturn that started in the US in 2007 spread rapidly throughout the world. The forecasts have been alarming ever since; the demands for fundamental changes in the industry and in the mindset of its leaders have been growing louder.

The happy times of the economic boom have given way to an era of vast government bailouts, which threaten to defuse the sense of urgency for rethinking the industry’s business model.

Eye of the storm The car industry is Slovenia’s biggest exporter; with EUR 4 bn of export revenues, it is responsible for one quarter of the country’s exports. Directly and indirectly, it employs 120,000 people. When the industry is hurting, so is the economy at large.

The Slovenia Times

The car industry is Slovenia’s biggest exporter; with EUR 4 bn of export revenues, it is responsible for one quarter of the country’s exports. Directly and indirectly, it employs 120,000 people.

When the industry is hurting, so is the economy at large. The worst, however, seems to have been averted thanks largely to subsidies aimed at increasing car sales in Germany and other key markets for the export-driven Slovene economy. What will hap-

pen when these subsides run out, remains to be seen.

Matej Lahovnik, Slovenia’s minister of economy, dislikes such subsidies in Slovenia; they are aimed at makers of final products and would not be efficient in rescuing the industry that makes its living primarily as parts supplier to large foreign car makers. Instead, Slovenia opted for a stimulus package that will be based on European Investment Bank (EIB) financing.

The big boys Taking a look at Revoz, Slovenia’s biggest exporter and a subsidiary of Renault, we see an impressive company. It assembles Renault’s most popular models, the Clio 2 and the twingo, shipping them to French and German markets, the most important ones in Europe. Other Renault-owned factories making the same models produce cars for less important markets. The company has greatly benefited from foreign subsidies, increasing production to full capacity after a five-month production slump.

Mobile homes and caravans is another segment of the car market

On the verge?

Companies that produce auto parts for a wide variety of brands are barely feeling the crisis. Hella Saturnus, boasting a long tradition of making car lighting equipment, is doing very well, making lights for Opel, VW, Renault, Ford, Toyota and many others. The thousand employees in the company are working in four shifts, seven days a week. However, this is largely a consequence of European subsidies that are about to end, and not a testament of the company’s resilience.

The industry as a whole does have a future, either with subsidies or without them. A good example is Elaphe, a young high-tech company, with a pioneering spirit and a bold uncompromising vision. The in-wheel electric motors they produce could be the direction of the industry in the future.

Much more should be invested into R&D, if they are to emerge as one of the industry changing-companies. The conditions, however, are almost perfect; at a time when the car industry is struggling to find ways to survive in a world so different from what it was just a few years ago, new ideas are more than welcome.

ECONOMY 27

Interview: Ernest Gortan

Reconsolidation as a Prime Goal Slovenia has a great potential of becoming an important regional logistics thanks to its nearly ideal geostrategic position. One of the three major Slovenian logistics companies is Intereuropa, which has had a new management team since June this year. The new President of the Management Board, Ernest Gortan, is confronted with the demanding task of coping with the effects of the economical crisis.

By Polona Cimerman With international trade volumes falling steeply, the recession has by no means spared logistics companies. Intereuropa’s net revenues for the first six months of 2009 were 27% lower than in the same period last year. What are the main reasons for this situation?

The decline in the flow of goods caused the drop in our revenues.

Goods transactions are much weaker than they were before the crisis. The logistics sector is by definition sensitive to such oscillations. The recession also resulted in price pressures and rationalization of services.

What measures did you employ to overcome the difficult times?

We carried out some actions to lower the costs. We had to achieve agreements with banks about restructuring our debts because Intereuropa is relatively indebted.

We are now conducting a reorganization. Our main goal is a more transparent structure with a reduced number of management levels that would ensure more effective communication and faster reactions to market situations. If we become more sensitive to what the market demands, we will be able to increase our sales. We are also striving for additional market share.

Apart from Slovenia, Intereuropa has strong presence on the markets of the former Yugoslavia and Russia. Are these markets faring any better than western European ones?

Intereuropa is present in 13 countries – in the former Yugoslavia, Russia and also in Ukraine and some countries in western Europe. Except for Russia, all others are affected by the drop in trade flows. We need to keep our market share and the position we have on individual markets. Our market share is the largest in countries of the former Yugoslavia; we are trying to be even more aggressive in our marketing activities in order to retain our good position there.

What are your plans for the future? Some new investments perhaps?

Next year is going to be all about adjusting to new circumstances, and we thus don’t have any large projects on our agenda. We are considering only those investments that aren’t highly risky and which have relatively quick effects. However, due to the market situation, it is difficult to plan for the more distant future. We still don’t know for certain the true consequences of the recession, but we’ll definitely adapt ourselves to the market.

How is the Čehov logistics centre near Moscow progressing?

The terminal capacities for automotive logistics are full and business is in full swing; we have contracts with two partners, Kia and General Motors. Goods are circulating and do not stay in the warehouses for longer periods of time, so we can be satisfied with these activities. Our other project there (additional warehouse capacities) is in its final stage – the terminal is going to be completed in the next few months. This means we will

be able to do business and make use of it very soon.

How do you see the idea of forming a Slovenian logistics holding? Do you think a small country like Slovenia should unite its logistics companies into an integral supplier of logistics services and connect with a strategic partner?

Slovenia’s geostrategic position makes it an important logistics destination. The two trans-European corridors crossing our country are significant and so is the Port of Koper, which represents a starting and final point for goods entering or leaving Slovenia. Intereuropa, Luka Koper and Slovenske železnice carry a major potential for the development of Slovenia’s logistics. We need the right strategy to make the best of Slovenia’s outstanding position; this could be capital linkages, joint marketing, presentations and joint projects. I think the three companies must cooperate even more than they already do. However, due to the crisis, a merger would not be suitable - each company must first resolve its own problems.

The terminal capacities for automotive logistics are full and business is in full swing; we have contracts with two partners, Kia and General Motors.

The two trans-European corridors crossing our country are significant and so is the Port of Koper, which represents a starting and final point for goods entering or leaving Slovenia.

December 2009

So Close ...

A getaway in Slovenia is CLOSE. It is CLOSE TO HOME, CLOSE TO HEART - also in the upcoming winter months.

The Slovenian Tourist Board continues the CLOSE TO HOME, CLOSE TO HEART campaign also in the winter months and invites the Slovenes to spend their winter holidays in Slovenia.

Why is a getaway in Slovenia appealing also in the winter months?

A patch of the Alps, stretching into Slovenia, nurtures more than ten ski-resorts. Each in their unique way offers absolute winter pleasure. The main advantage of Slovene ski resorts is their direct connection with valleys.

Easy access is complemented by modern skilift facilities. Distinctive of nearly all Slovene ski resorts is their compactness and diversity.

Their compact space is the bustling grounds for winter fun. In the valleys, near traditional ski cabins or on snow beaches you can revel in the hustle and bustle, music and conveniently meet other winter enthusiasts.

Our ski resorts will surprise you with excellent on-slope orientation, modernity and hospitability. A particular appeal is the vicinity of urban centres that invite you on evening strolls after exhausting skiing. And for keener party-hunters a ride to a bigger city should not be a problem.

To make it brief: A winter getaway in Slovenia is CLOSE TO HOME and also CLOSE TO HEART. Win a winter getaway for three years in a row!

Also in the winter season, as a part of the CLOSE TO HOME, CLOSE TO HEART campaign, The Slovenian Tourist Board will organ-

ise a prize-winning contest with an array of attractive prizes (more prize info is available at the web site www.slovenia.info/doma). The main prize is a week-long getaway for two in a Hit Holidays Kranjska Gora hotel 4* with a half-board for incredible three years in a row.

And what about non-skiers?

Also for those who are not attracted to snowy slopes, mountain and ski resorts offer a range of possibilities for an enjoyable getaway.

Namely every Slovene ski resort tells its own story. Some fascinate you with the charming nature and invite you for long strolls, whereas the others disclose you paths of tradition on urban rambles in nearby towns. Particularly stands and outdoor activities adorned with the Christmas mood are worth visiting in the festive winter months. And for those who long for indulgence after an exausting day, some resorts in their complexes offer utter relaxation embraced by water drops, rich welness programmes and top-class culinary delights.

For everyone there is the thing that makes you come back year after year on active winter holidays.

their peculiarities! Do away with your hunger by eating locally made food. Be considerate to the environment and travel to ski-resorts by ski-shuttles, running also from the centre of Ljubljana, hop on a train for Bohinjska Bistrica, or hit the slopes above Maribor by a city public transport bus. Make your life greener: reduce the amount of waste, save on energy.

Thank you very much!

And just a hint: Ski green!

More than a third of Slovenia lies in the area of biotic diversity protection Natura 2000. More than a half of the territory is covered in woods.

Slovenia ranks as one of the biotic richest European countries and one of the 15 cleanest countries in the world! Ski slopes are touching protected nature areas. Most of them are stretching on mountains used for pasture in the summer. So – promote the preservation of advertisement

14 Days 29

Ljubljana

City Break

December is a magical time to wander around snow-covered old towns, illuminated with thousands of decorative lights. Ljubljana, with its classical architecture set along the shining river, is the place to be during the long December nights. Stands offering snacks, “warm-ups� and gifts are an essential part of its winter charm, in addition to diverse performers on several stages. It is essential for people from Ljubljana to spend at least one evening in their own city, joined by visitors from other parts of the country and the many foreigners who have picked Ljubljana as a part of their holiday travels.

December 2009

Gift & Souvenir Shop

Sea-food Restaurant Cvrtnica Gosposvetska 7 Ljubljana cvrtnica@gmail.com open: 10 am - 8 pm

“The best seafood € can buy in only 5 minutes!”

Gift & Souvenir Shop

BEST SOUVENIR SHOP IN THE CITY !

Welcome to the unique Gift Shop in the Centre of Ljubljana.

Miklošičeva 1 ( Grand Hotel Union) Ljubljana +386(0)590 257 27 www.ljubljana-souvenirs.com

Darila Rokus d.o.o.

Gosposvetska cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija phone: (01) 234 97 20, fax: (01) 234 97 30 e-mail: darila@darila.com website: www.darila.com

Slovenian Cousine

Bakery Store

Y

¬ íOPOVA¬ULICA¬,JUBLJANA

Chocolate Gifts

Benedict, d.o.o., Mestni trg 11, 1000 Ljubljana www.cukrcek.si, info@benedict.si Pizzeria

Gregorčičeva 3 Open: 11.00 – 24.00 every day Tel.: 01/421-92-95, www.foculus.com

Probably the most popular pizzeria in Slovenia 66 kinds of pizzas, king size salads Restaurant

Jewellery & Gift Shop

Restavracija Pri Vitezu

Pub

KAMEN - Jewellery & gift shop

Breg 20, Ljubljana centre Tel : +386 1 426-60-58 privitezu@siol.net Open: Mon-Sat, noon – 11pm (closed on holidays)

Stari trg 32, open daily 9.00 AM - 8.00 PM Make your day with Slovenian designed jewellery, elegant pearls, gorgeus amber, extraordinary turquoise. Find many gifts and gem stones in KAMEN specialized store.

Levstikov trg 9 TEL.: 040/355-818

Fashion Boutiques

Erotic Shop

P O H S X SE

www.venera−shop.si

Trubarjeva 43 & Vošnjakova 5

Int. & Slo. Restaurant

Top shopping experience in Slovenia www.morris.si

Merry December in Ljubljana Centre

MAXMARA

MIKLOŠIČEVA 6, LJUBLJANA TEL.: +386 (0)1 426 58 80

TRU TRUSSARDI

MIKLOŠIČEVA 7, LJUBLJANA TEL.: +386 (0) 59 074 299

LA PERLA STUDIO © Hotel

Sea-food Restaurant

MIKLOŠIČEVA 7A, LJUBLJANA TEL.: +386 (0)1 434 00 60

STUDIO HOSIERY

MIKLOŠIČEVA 10, LJUBLJANA TEL.: +386 (0)1 430 25 77

MARELLA

SLOVENSKA CESTA 28, LJUBLJANA TEL.: +386 (0)1 426 92 44

Antiq hotel Gornji trg 3, SI-1000 Ljubljana Tel.: +386(0)1/421-35-60, Fax: +386(0)1/421-35-65 info@antiqhotel.si, www.antiqhotel.si

MARINA RINALDI

DALMATINOVA 11B, LJUBLJANA TEL.: +386 (0)1 433 04 85

The Capital December Events in Ljubljana

Cultural Highlights dance performances and magicians. Father Frost and his entourage will also visit these performances every day.

Musical programme for the Prešernov trg square Dec 26–Jan 2, 8pm, Prešernov trg square

Primary school choirs Dec 8–21 (only during the week), 5pm, Mestni trg square The festive atmosphere in the old city centre will be enhanced by a series of short concerts by children’s choirs.

Nativity scene in the City Hall Dec 15–Jan 2, 5pm–9 pm, City Hall (Mestna hiša) It will also be possible to see the Christmas story in the atrium of the City Hall. The nativity scene was made especially for this occasion and is the work of artist Zmago Modic.

Christmas concert Dec 24, 5pm, Mestni trg square The annual Christmas concert will again give the opportunity to enjoy the performances of quality Slovene musical performers in the middle of a festively decorated Ljubljana.

The Slovenia Times

Father Frost processions

The festive schedule at the Prešernov trg square is traditionally marked by performances by singers and popular music bands.

Holiday concerts are a good chance to get together with friends and acquaintances and enjoy the fun programme, which is very versatile this year, from Croatian popdiva Severina and Bosnian Haria Mata Hari to domestic popular stars such as Jan Plestenjak and Kingston.

Dec 26–Dec 30, 5pm, Breg, Cobblers’ Bridge, Mestni trg square, the street Stritarjeva ulica, Prešernov trg square

Street theatre on the Cobblers’ Bridge

Performers: Katrinas and Matjaž Robavs & Band

In the last days before the New Year Father Frost will come from the north with his chariot. He will visit us accompanied by horsemen on Lipizzan horses, snowmen, bears, rabbits and other creatures from folk stories and fairytales.

Children’s entertainment on the Prešernov trg square Dec 26–Dec 30, 11am–1pm, 4pm–6pm, Prešernov trg square Children and families will surely enjoy the activities on the Prešernov trg square, where they will be able to see puppet shows, circus acts,

Dec 26–30, 7pm–9pm, Cobblers’ Bridge The Cobblers’ Bridge will host many lively and picturesque street events. The street variety shows will include performances by clowns, puppeteers, artistes and circus performers. The shows will be interesting for children and

adults. The second part of the schedule will include performances by street theatres.

New Year’s Eve celebrations Dec 31, 9pm The schedule of the New Year’s Eve celebrations on the Prešernov trg square is intended for a wide variety of people and is planned so that people of all age groups can have fun. The square also offers the best view of the fireworks, which will light up the sky over Ljubljana at midnight from the Ljubljana Castle and announce the New Year.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve on the Mestni trg square is traditionally intended for more demanding audiences. This year’s performers will undoubtedly thrill even them.

Celebrating New Year’s Eve at the Pogačarjev trg square is a new item on the programme of festive events. You will be able to see Slovene performers of popular and ethno pop music.

Alternative rock music fans will find Križanke to be the right place to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The fireworks from the Ljubljana Castle will light up the sky over Ljubljana a minute after midnight and announce the New Year.

Photo: BOBO

Museums and Galleries

Art in December A priority list for all those art lovers, who intend to spend a couple of merry December hours in galleries and museums.

by Petra Milič

Traditional Narodna galerija (National Gallery) is the main art museum in Slovenia, containing the largest visual arts collection from the late medieval period to the early twentieth century.

With the high cultural awareness of all Slovenes, Narodna galerija has developed into one of the country’s most eminent cultural and artistic institutions.

On 22nd June 1933, the gallery arranged the ceremonial opening of the expanded permanent collection of Slovene art. The National Gallery owns a collection including works from Middle Ages and the 16th century, Neoclassicism, Realism, 17th and 18th Century and Slovene Early Modernist works.

The permanent collection represents the core of the activity of the gallery. This is reflected in the fact that the largest space of the gallery is reserved for exhibiting selected works from its collection. The most significant contribution to the permanent collection since 1945 is the inclusion of

major paintings by Ivan Grohar, a Slovene impressionist painter, one of the leading figures of Slovene impressionism in the fin de siècle period.

Slovenski etnografski muzej (the Slovene Ethnographic Museum) holds a permanent exhibition “Between Nature and Culture,” displaying the rich array of purposes for which our predecessors made objects, used them, and – through space and time – distinguished and changed their forms, driven by the universal striving for survival in the natural environment.

Modern The Moderna galerija exhibition premises have just been reopened after a few years of extensive renovation works. Its first exhibition is of Zoran Mušič, the only 20th century Slovenian painter to make his way into the elite cultural circles of Italy and France, especially Paris where he lived most of his adult life. In 1944, he was sent by the Nazis to the Dachau concentration camp, where he made 200 sketches of life in the camp under extremely difficult circumstances.

From the drawings made in May 1945, he managed to save around seventy. After liberation, he returned to Ljubljana, but was subjected to the pressures of the newly established Communist regime and moved to Gorizia. He painted landscapes, portraits, horses, self portraits, the terrors of Dachau, Venice and double portraits of his wife Ida. Moderna galerija also houses the national collection of 20th century Slovene art (paintings,

sculptures, prints and drawings as well as photography, video and electronic media collections), a collection of works from the former Yugoslavia, and the international collection Arteast 2000+.

The national collection presents the basic stages in the development of the Slovene tradition of modern and contemporary art from the beginning of the 20th century onwards. The international collection Arteast 2000+ is based on dialogue between works by key artists from the East and the West, and presents a series of important artists from Eastern Europe who had been unknown or overlooked for a long time

Contemporary Photon – the Centre for Contemporary Photography has just opened its new space with an exhibition of Vanja Bučan’s work at the beginning of the month. The artist is a representative of the new wave in the field of contemporary photography. She is fin-

Photo: BOBO

A

s in every year, “Veseli December” (Happy December) started on 3rd December, with an opening event called “People, Let’s Turn On The Lights,” in memoriam to Slovenia’s greatest poet, France Prešeren, born on that same day. In addition to the numerous music events that can be seen at the end of the year, puppet shows, performances, gatherings and other, museums and galleries are also offering a nice variety of events.

ishing her studies of fine arts in The Hague, while simultaneously continuing to work on her opuses.

Her photo and video project presented in Photon, entitled “Fools and Follies,” is a current upgrade of the tendencies in her recent creative processes.

Maja Smrekar and Spanish artist Andie Gracie are to be presented in Kapelica Gallery, which is known for its unique and daring art shows. It focuses on research and experiments, creating space installations and ambiences, performances and artistic actions; however, the art presented in this gallery is called Contemporary Investigative Arts.

Andie Gracie is a classically educated artist who set his first works as installations, sound projects and performances, but has lately joined art with biotechnology. He is looking for a symbiosis between computer systems/programs and biological processes.

Maja Smrekar a young Slovenian intermedia and video artist, using the two media through which she is trying to constitute a different view on a media-created social reality in order to expose its clichés, taboos and conflict relations.

She is interested in human integrity and changes of perception of spaces: body, mind and feelings, redefining the connection with reality.

The Vžigalica Gallery in Mestni Muzej (City Museum) is hosting two Slovenian artists, Manja Vadla and Sašo Vrabič, whose common interest is recycling, reshaping mass media images: events, inscriptions, materials, ideas, situations, pictures, objects related to everyday life in urban area. The themes of their work evoke social, philosophical, environmental, ethical, religious, political and personal questions about identity in different aspects.

National gallery permanently exhibits Slovenian fine art classics.

December 2009

The Capital

New Age Shopping Years ago, when there were no huge shopping malls, people usually went to the city centre to buy whatever they needed, especially near the Christmas holidays. It is pretty hard to remember those days and harder still to imagine life with no shopping malls on the outskirts of town.

By Petra Milič

B

TC City is not only one of the biggest shopping centres in Slovenia, but a sports centre and also a place for cultural engagement. There are many puppet shows in December, while parents are shopping, their kids can watch a performance or simply enjoy themselves on the indoor playground. When it comes to shopping areas, people have quite divided opinions; some still like old school city centre and others go to shopping centres such as City Park or Mercator Center.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Traditional Stores Since shopping malls begin in Slovenia, there are fewer and fewer small stores to buy food in Ljubljana. Maximarket is a department store in the centre of town where you can also buy food and is a good place to buy ingredients for making more exotic types of food such as sushi, Chinese or The Slovenia Times

Mexican. However, new clothing, accessories, furniture, cosmetic and other stores are opening in

the old town. The city centre is full of new restaurants and is a very attractive for visitors in Ljublja-

na, especially in December when it is decorated, full of lights and with a traditional Christmas tree on Prešernov trg. It is worth going shopping there for the sight of Ljubljana Castle, which is truly attractive at this time of year.

In a way it is romantic to walk the streets of old town and around, visit stores such as Status near Argentinski Park with top Scandinavian and Italian industrial design items, suitable as gifts for Christmas, New Year’s or birthdays.

Close by are Escada and Hugo Boss for those with a taste for high fashion. Down Miklošičeva ulica there’s an interesting store called Flat with unique small items for your home, and another high fashion end of the street with Max & Co. just across from Hotel Union. Across the Ljubljanica River, a huge variety of food and drink spots are opening. A genuine Čajna hiša (Tea House) is a great place to buy gifts or just to seat down and have one. An attractive Scandinavian-style cocktail bar opened on Gornji Trg not long ago, and they mix the best cocktails in town.

Even though for residents of Ljubljana the most convenient place

The Difference A quick overview of the basic elements that make the difference between shopping in huge malls or in the city centre. All of the attributes are generalisations, of course.

The Malls

The Centre

Offer

Huge and diverse in quality: from hardware and home appliances to groceries.

Select: mostly food, cosmetics, clothes and accessories.

Staff

Trained, specialized sellers.

Usually more friendly and ready to engage in small talk.

Prices

Better chance of finding a cheaper item.

Pricier.

Restaurants

Typical and affordable restaurants.

Western fast food.

More variety in offer, sizes and price ranges. Balkan fast food.

Atmosphere

Warm and charming.

Crowded and anonymous.

Beside shopping

Stands with drinks and barbecue, cafés, sightseeing.

Bowling alleys, swimming pools, skating rinks, children areas, multiplex cinema etc.

Parking

Difficult and expensive.

Available and free.

to go is a huge shopping mall, the centre of the town is still an attractive place to go and most of people say they still find it nicer and more attractive but they need to be economical; therefore, their shopping habits simply had to change.

The Mall BTC City and City Park are a whole other story. The place has become an entertainment place for shoppers, families, and young people over the years. Not only you can buy whatever you need, you can easily have a lot o fun just going to Kolosej watch a movie, play games nearby, go swimming or for a massage in Atlantis, and all in one place.

Big shopping malls organize all sorts of entertainment: concerts, games and other shows for adults as well as puppet shows and playgrounds for children. The point is to attract a family who will spend the whole day in a shopping centre, where each member of the family can find all sorts of things to do, buy whatever they

need, eat lunch and also spend a day together. This is a substitute for all the good old times spent together in nature or just among the family.

Shopping has obviously become a huge part of our lives.

Many people are still simply not attracted to this kind of crowded places and so they prefer to go during the week when there are fewer visitors. However, December is a good time to visit such places, because there is so much

happening, mostly for small children. In City Park, they are building the Santa’s village, and he will also be coming to say hello to the children. Inside the mall where exhibitions are usually held, they are building a huge playground for the kids.

So in the end, you can take the children to see a show in one of the city centre’s puppet theatres or take them to the mall as well. Every destination has its own ambience; it seems people in Ljubljana are still pretty old-fashioned and like to visit the good old city centre, especially in December, have a glass of cooked wine or mead along the river, and have a chat with friends. As for shopping for everyday stuff, a big mall is the most convenient place to go. The truth is that in December in Slovenia slows down. People sacrifice a bit more time than usual to hang out with friends and family. This time of year is called “Happy December” and has a special magical influence on us all.

The Capital Lifestyle

Winter Warm-Up As cold days are creeping in, keeping warm is becoming essential.

I

December fast approaches.

Chestnuts have long been a popular staple, even in the times before the introduction of wheat.

The chestnut tree was spread around via Roman invasions, as those large armies relied greatly on these nuts. The generously bearing trees easily fed many hungry mouths, as the tasty nuts were prepared in a number of ways; roasted or cooked, as well as ground to make flour for polenta and castagnaccio, a flat bread.

Even though chestnuts were eaten by common men, its posh cousin the marron, was a different story. The marron, today the most popular chestnut, because it is large and sweet, comes from It-

Photo: BOBO

t is growing colder by the day, and nights are getting longer – it’s winter. But no worries, nobody will freeze, and we have a few survival strategies to offer.

As some sort of winter harbingers, chestnut vendors flock to the streets as temperatures begin to dip. They stand in their wooden huts preparing chestnuts for passers-by. Many of them have been around for a while, coming here for 10 years or more. All the vendors sell the Italian marron, because, they say, these nuts are bigger and tastier. Their season starts in October and lasts through December.

At the beginning of the season business was somewhat slow, but it has definitely picked up as the beginning of the festive month of

This way for mulled wine.

Photo: BOBO

By Tanja Goršič

aly. In the old days it was exported to France and Spain, where it was considered a delicacy and was accordingly expensive, thus only a treat for the wealthy.

The beginning of December, however, brings chestnut vendors more company. Stalls selling sweetly spiced mulled wine are popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. In December, the month traditionally given over to mad partying, the city centre becomes a platform for all sorts of parties, with mulled wine being the best excuse to meet up with friends, or to go for a cup after work.

Hot or mulled wine is a traditional holiday treat that has been around for centuries. This aromatic beverage is easy to prepare, too.

All you need is a bottle of your favourite red or white wine, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and orange.

The wine is mixed with some water, sweetened to taste, spices are added, and the orange is pealed

and sliced. The concoction is usually heated at a low temperature for 20 minutes – but should not be brought to a boil. Otherwise, its inebriating qualities disappear, which is a definite no-no during THE party month.

A not her ava i lable def rosting winter drink at the stalls is the incredibly sweet and strong honey schnapps, Medica, which is warmed up to give an extra kick. It can prove quite lethal if its use is exaggerated, so try to be smart.

Sure, the internet is full of recipes for both roasted chestnuts and mulled wine, and anyone knows how to prepare them at home, but how incredibly anti-social would that be? Not to mention, that the special aroma of the coals is a must in a roasted chestnut, and similarly, mulled wine just isn’t the same in the comfort of a warm home. The cold has to nip at your ears in order to fully appreciate these holiday treats.

Open every day from 10:00 to 22:00

Traditional Thai Massage Reflexology Aromatherapy Warm Herbal Anti-cellulite Massage

Siam Thai Dunajska cesta 190, 1000 Ljubljana T: +386 (0)59 075 100 GSM: +386 (0)41 319 888 www.tajskemasaze.si info@tajskemasaze.si

Archaeology

Exciting Worlds Beneath our Feet For the past few months, the streets of Ljubljana have been unrecognizable. The usually relaxing and picturesque strolls through the city centre have been interrupted with closed streets, protective barriers and deep holes completely altering the cosy image of Slovenia’s capital. The fallen beauty is now regaining its good looks and living up to its fame, enriched with some new pieces in the mosaic of its history.

T

he original story behind this is the replacement of the old sewer pipes, which took place in Krekov, Vodnikov, CirilMetodov, Spodnji and Gornji trg and Kopitarjeva and Stritarjeva ulica. This rather trivial reason for digging up the streets of Ljubljana gave an opportunity to archaeologists to uncover the secret worlds that lie below the asphalt and cobblestone streets we walk every day, unaware of what might be hidden beneath our feet.

“The site at Kopitarjev trg was a place of a truly astonishing discovery – the remains of a prehistoric settlement. The quantities and degree of preservation of pottery show that the prehistoric man was very active in that area,” say the authorities at the City of Ljubljana (MOL), responsible for the archaeological excavations; funded by the Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljane(Museum and Gallery of the City of Ljubljana). These finds are considered important, since no traces of prehistoric settlement had ever previously been found in that district.

Stritarjeva ulica had another surprise in store; in addition to medieval and later house foundations, a medieval torrent channel was discovered. “Finds from the period when medieval Ljubljana started to evolve are extremely rare. These discoveries are therefore even more important for understanding the city’s origins,” MOL points out. Another interesting find is the so-called cloister door in Vodnikov trg which protected medieval Ljubljana with its mighty defensive system. The site has been filled in for winter protection, but only temporarily since MOL plans some project designs for an in situ museum presentation.

Welcome to Emona The largest project in the centre has been the start of construction of the city centre car park under Kongresni trg, commissioned by MOL. The excavations, covering almost 8,000 m2 started in February this year; one part of them is in its final stage while the construction works are to be completed in

Remainings of the Roman city Emona within the building site by the Aškerčeva ulica

Photo: BOBO

By Polona Cimerman

A tomb excavated at a construction site near the railway station.

2010. In the summer, archaeologists discovered some very important finds from antiquity. One of the most exciting was the graves which date back to the very founders of the Roman city of Emona, i.e. sometime around the year 10 or 15 B.C. Another astounding thing for this location was the discovery of parts of buildings spreading out on the outer edge of the defensive ditch. These were equipped with water canals, a central heating system, mosaics and frescoes from the 1st and 2nd century A.D. Archaeologists found an extremely well-preserved water fountain, two babies’ graves in burial cases made of antique bricks, and many smaller Roman finds – jewellery, ceramics and other small items.

At the beginning of the 17th century, a Capuchin monastery was built on the location of today’s Zvezda Park; archaeologists uncovered some of its walls, a chapel and a number of smaller objects.

The destiny of immovable finds is not yet clear. MOL says they “wish

to connect the basement floor of the new Šumi building with the previously discovered Northern Emona gate, the passage of the new car park and Plečnik’s passageway with the Emonec statue.

It would not be possible to have larger exhibition premises due to technical reasons and the protected plane trees of the park.”

After the works, the image of the popular park will remain unchanged with some footpath renovations while Kongresni trg is going to re-assume the character of the central city square, reserved for pedestrians only, following some crucial guidelines of Plečnik.

Finds from all sites will be housed in units of Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljane, some of them in situ. As early as next year, there will be some temporary exhibitions, while the biggest display is planned for 2014 which will mark 2,000th anniversary of Emona; it will include the excavated objects and the results of the research from the past few years.

December 2009

38 LIFE STYLE

Skiing Break Skiing is one of Slovenia’s favourite pastimes. The country is full of small to medium-sized ski resorts.

Despite the Slovenia’s small size, most of the resorts still seem too far away if you live in Ljubljana and want to dedicate just a few hours to skiing. However, there are two worthy exceptions – two ski slopes found in Ljubljana’s backyard. For both skiing fanatics and fun-seeking families, it is highly recommended to take advantage of them …

Krvavec

Sunny Slope high Above the Fog Not far from Ljubljana’s airport, high enough to assure a reliable supply of snow, versatile in terms of something for everyone, from beginners to daring snowboarders... And let’s not forget to mention some cool additions: Have you ever slept in an igloo?

K

rvavec functions as Ljubljana’s own ski slope. Provincials would even put this in a slightly pejorative sense meaning this place gathers the fabulous city-elite who likes to show off their au courant and fashionable skiing outfits. But primarily, this is a versatile ski centre in at a perfect location, suitable for hardcore skiers and snowboarders as well as beginners.

With facilities for kids learning to ski, youngsters learning to

The Slovenia Times

snowboard and advanced skiers craving speed, Krvavec is a convenient destination for short skitrips – not just for people living in Slovenia but for foreign tourists, who account for 30% of visitors.

It has very few button lifts; mostly chair lifts, including the new six-person chair lift to the Krvavec peak (1,853m). This is a remarkable feature, especially for snowboarders.

As all slopes face the south, the area is bathed in sunshine. In par-

ticular, the Tiha Dolina is one big warm terrace, where those who like to take it slower can easily chill out and get a tan with reasonably priced food, drinks and other interesting stuff.

A special attraction up there is its igloo village, where you can sleep over and have fun, all inside snowy structures providing enough comfort and warmth.

The Krvavec resort is situated on the south side of the mountain, and this is the last moun-

tain before the Slovenian lowlands start. Imagine the view from a 2,000 m-high skyscraper?

Well, that’s exactly it. Here at Krvavec, the mountains abruptly stop and one can see the entire valley of central Slovenia, with ranges of hills peaking out of the mist and fields, forests, towns and airplanes. When the Slovenians invented the slogan “The Sunny Side of the Alps,” Krvavec is probably what they had in mind.

LIFE STYLE 39

Stari Vrh

The Old Peak Closest to Ljubljana, Stari Vrh represents a great solution for a daytrip or, even more interesting, for evening skiing on its illuminated slopes. This dynamic slope may not be one of the biggest resorts, but with its wide range of services and facilities, it can easily compete with others.

I

t is a small resort, which resolves a big issue for the die-hard ski fanatics: the question of “How can I go skiing if I live in Ljubljana and don’t want to sacrifice a day off work?” There are three points to answer why Stari Vrh it is ideal in these terms: firstly, it is only a 45-minute drive from Ljubljana.

Secondly, the illuminated piste is something every advanced skier would want: long and dynamic.

Thirdly, the new six-seat express lift takes you to the top in no time,

meaning no freezing out there (the lift’s seats are heated) and no (or very short) waiting lines.

Apart from night skiing, Stari Vrh is a versatile place. It can satisfy both advanced skiers and beginners, although it is a bit more oriented towards the former.

Technically speaking, it may not be the closest to Ljubljana, but due to the fact you can ski right off the parking lot (not the case with Krvavec), it is definitely the place you can reach first. This is particu-

larly handy when you want three hours of intense night skiing in the evening, not some sunbathing.

Furthermore, there’s a variety of other things for everyone: children’s park, sledding area, acrobatic jumps and ramps for snowboarders, cross county track, ski-touring path. Lodging and food are a chapter of their own.

Besides the obvious hot dogs and fries served on the slope, it would be a sin not to visit one of the surrounding inns or tourist farms.

For Stari Vrh’s close position to urban areas, daily skiing is a great option. However a vacation there is a good idea as well – especially if you choose to stay at a tourist farm or apartment, some of which are situated right in the middle of the slope.

Additional winter pleasures available close to the Stari Vrh, range from the Mišouh sledding track to the Rovn skating rink or the swimming pool with saunas at Železniki.

years ÈOLNIÈEK SADNO ÈOKOLADNIH UŽITKOV

MESNI CMOÈKI V LEŠNIKOVI PANADI

Vivo Catering and Bill Clinton’s visit

Sestavine: 20 dag mlete govedine, 20 dag mlete svinjine, 2 Sestavine: TESTO: 45 dag moke, 5 dag mletih orehov, 25 dkg margarine, 2 žlici olivnega olja, 6 dag èebule, 2 stroka èesna, 6 dag riža, 2 žlici sladkorja, 1 rumenjak, pecilni prašek, 2 dcl kisle smetane jajci, drobtine, 1 dcl juhe, sol, poper, majaron, peteršilj ÈOKOLADNA KREMA: 50 dag jedilne èokolade 0,5 l smetane za stepanje, TESTO: 2 jajci, sol, 2 dcl piva, 8 dag moke, 4 dag mletih 15 dag sladkorja v prahu 10 dag orehov, 0,5 dcl ruma lešnikov Priprava: Moki dodamo mlete orehe, pecilni prašek v sredino naredimo Priprava: Na oljènem olju prepražimo drobno sesekljano jamico , dodamo na košèke natrgano margarino sladkor , rumenjak in kislo At the end of October, during Bill Clinton’s èebulo. Ko èebula malo ovene, dodamo strta stroka èesna in smetano. Vmesimo srednje mehko testo , ki mora malo poèivati v hladilniku. nato opran riž. Prilijemo juho, premešamo in pustimo, da se Nato testo razvaljamo na nekaj milimetrov debelo in testo previdno položimovisit to Slovenia, Vivo Catering organized a feast at the highest protocol level onduši fourtoliko èasa, da je riž na polovico v pomašèen pekaè. ( oz. razliène oblike malih modelèkov – ladice). Speèemo kuhan. Mletemu mesu dodamo ohlajen dušen riž, zaèinimo, v segreti peèici na 175 c, da je testo zlato rjavo zapeèeno. Pustimo da se floors of Cankarjev dom under the watchful še jajci in dodamo toliko drobtin, da lahko a ohladi. Èokolado nalomimo v skledo in jo postavimo na lonec v katerem vre eye of security services. Vivo madeprimešamo kroglice. feast for more than a thousand guestsoblikujemo with voda, èokolado mešamo, da se raztopi. Poèakamo, da se èokolada malo Zaof testo razžvrkljamo jajca, dodamo sol in pivo. ohladi. Dodamo ji na sladkorju popražene grobo mlete orehe, sladkor in rum.chosen finger food and took good care Nato rahlo stepemo smetano in jo umešamo v èokolado. S kremo napolnimo the hundred wealthy people who metNa Billkoncu primešamo še moko in mlete lešnike. èolnièke in postavimo v hladilnik, da se èokoladna krema strdi. Na koncu Clinton in person. They presented itself in Kroglice pomakamo v pivsko testo in jih ocvremo. Zraven lahko dekoriramo z svežim ali vloženim narezanim sadjem. Po želji lahko all its glory with the most difficult hot and ponudimo janeževo majonezo. èokoladne sadne èolnièke postrežemo tudi s stepeno sladko smetano. cold cocktail feast. The selection of carefully selected dishes was rounded off by the refined inventory from the Rosental line. The guest of honour himself was impressed with the style and manner of the feast.

The Slovenia Times December 2009 advertisment

Smrekarjev hram restaurant Nazorjeva 2, Ljubljana Tel: +386 (0)1 308 19 07 smrekarjev.hram@gh-union.si www.gh-union.si Open: Every day from noon till 11 p.m.

Food type International with seasonal elements Price range two-course daily and weekend menu – 14 EUR per person three-course weekly menu – 32 EUR per person

Dine with style

Reservation recommended

Check out the availability and reserve your table for Smrekarjev hram’s New Year’s Eve menu Welcome drink ***** Goose liver terrine with glazed apples ***** Cepes soup with poached quail’s egg ***** Scampi risotto with saffron ***** Raspberry gratiné ***** Veal confit, beef fillet with pommes fondant and sauté vegetables risotto ***** Cranberry sorbet with chocolate and raspberry foam ***** Coffee, pralines

Smrekarjev hram restaurant

The Union of Healthy and Tasty A classically stylish restaurant in the centre of Ljubljana with a kitchen run by some of Slovenia’s best chefs.

T

he fairytale Christmas atmosphere combi nes exceptionally prepared food, well-chosen wine, and classically stylish interiors in Ljubljana’s centre. Move just one block away from the ever-busy Čopova street, and Nazorjeva Street runs parallel and provides a neat and calm alternative with many shops, bars, and restaurants and – among them, one that deserves more than just a mention. Smrekarjev hram is one of Ljubljana’s most prestigious restaurants. Besides the excellence in its menu, there’s one element which only adds to its uniqueness: tradition. It is a place of lasting customs, the kind of restaurant certain aristocrats hold as a place where they can come for regular coffee or lunch, and eventually bring their friends whom they The Slovenia Times

want to impress. As such, this is a place where many history-making ideas have been discussed.

The prestigious Union

Smrekarjev hram is a part of the prestigious Hotel Union building, which includes an old-fashioned cafeteria and a large concert hall, that all retain their 1905, richlydecorated, secessionist image, created according to the then current Viennese trends in architecture. The restaurant itself is was built in the sixties, however it carries on the sprit spirit of the entire complex. Also The restaurant got its name from is named after Hinko Smrekar, a genius impressionist painter, well known for his humorous illustrations, some of which you can find exhibited in the restaurant.

Dream team

Smerkarjev hram offers international food with a slightly Mediterranean slant. The restaurant is home to a young, ambitious, award-winning team, led by the head of national chef team Janez Dolšek the chef of the Slovenian Culinary Team, Janez Dolšak.

They have been entrusted with the task of cooking for many famous visitors. The list consist consists of many presidents and member s of royalty, with such as Bill Clinton, H.M. Queen Elisabeth II., and H.M. King Juan Carlos – just to mention a few. The chefs are keen to emphasize its effort in utilising the freshest and least processed ingredients there are possible.

At the same time they absolutely shun any preservative-laden or instant foodstuffs food substitutes.

Top choice Calypso Restaurant

In Issue 116

Kidričeva 7, Nova Gorica Tel : + 386 5 336 31 35 restavracije.perla@hit.si Open: Sun – Thu, noon – 3pm, 7pm – midnight Fri – Sat (also on Italian holidays), 7pm–1am

Smrekarjev Hram Restaurant

In Issue 123

Nazorjeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana centre Tel: + 386 1 308 19 07 smrekarjev.hram@gh-union.si Open: Every day, noon – 11pm A la carte restaurant in the city centre of Ljubljana

Pri Vitezu Restaurant Breg 20, Ljubljana centre Tel : +386 1 426-60-58 privitezu@siol.net Open: Mon-Sat, noon – 11pm (closed on holidays)

Grad Otočec Restaurant

In Issue 121

Grajska cesta 2, Otočec Tel.: + 386 7 38 48 900 booking.grad-otocec@terme-krka.si www.terme-krka.si Open: Every day until 11pm

Bled Castle Restaurant

The desire to use only in-season fruits and vegetables is just one reason why the menu changes every few months.

Another, and perhaps even more important one, is variety: frequently visiting gourmands just want a different experience from time to time – and the chefs are always up to new challenges.

At the moment, the main course menu boasts delicacies such as baked octopus, monk fish with radicchio and bacon, Venison fillet with sweet red cabbage, or duck breasts a l’orange – to mention just a few. Apart from the changing elements, there are also some constants that deserve

a mention to be mentioned. The restaurant is famous for their porcini mushroom cappuccino soup, and sole with sautéed potatoes and spinach. These house specialities are the restaurant’s trademarsk trademarks, and definitely something you don’t want to miss.

Smrekarjev hram is one of the few central Ljubljana restaurants that is totally reliable as far as satisfaction in service and taste. Furthermore, the restaurant’s dining area offers also a number of small separate rooms where four to eight people can enjoy some privacy during their lunch or dinner meeting.

Cesta svobode 11, Bled Tel : +386 4 579 44 24 blejski.grad@zkbled.si, events@vgs-bled.si www.hotelastoria-bled.com, www.zavod-za-kulturo-bled.si Open: Every day, 8am – 8pm (November-April till 6pm) Special experiences for special occasions.

In Issue 122

Vila Bled Restaurant Cesta svobode 26, Bled Tel: +386 4 575 37 10 info@vila-bled.si, www.vila-bled.si Open: Every day, 12pm – 10pm Delights of the French, Mediterranean and Slovenian cuisines.

In Issue 117

Dvorec Zemono Pri Lojzetu Restaurant Dvorec Zemono, Vipava Tel : +386 5 368 70 07 zemono@zemono.si Tradition with innovation and creativity.

Top Eat & Party Pantone Process Black

Tomšičeva 2, Ljubljana centre cmyk 0/0/0/100 rgb 0/0/0 Tel (reservations): +386 40 177 775 info@klubtop.si; www.klubtop.si Open: Wed-Sat, 8:30am – 5am Delights of the French, Mediterranean and Slovenian cuisines.

Atrium Restaurant Pot za brdom 55, Hotel MONS (main entrance), Ljubljana ring, Brdo exit Tel : +386 1 470 27 00 info@hotel.mons.si Open: Every day, 12am – 10pm

Cafe & Restaurant Evropa

186 C 118 In Pantone Issue cmyk 15/100/100/10 rgb 191/31/36

In Issue 120

In Issue 119

Slovenska cesta 47, Ljubljana centre Tel : +386 1 438 24 20, +386 40 846 681 info@kavarnaeuropa.si Open: Pasta Nona and Lesar a la carte: daily: 11am – 11pm, Saturdays: 5 – 11pm, Sunday closed; Café: daily: 8am onwards, Saturday, Sunday, holiday: closed December 2009

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42 SOCIETY

SILA Bazar

All for a Good Cause The traditional charity bazaar, organised by the Slovenian International Ladies Association (SILA), was held on the last Saturday in November in Ljubljana for the 16th year running. The occasion has again brought together countries from all over the world, displaying products from over 30 countries.

By Maja Dragović

T

he popularity of the event is undeniable – even before the doors officially opened, a huge crowd was already swamping the stands. The first come, first served basis definitely applies here since everybody knows that you have to come early if you want to get the best items.

South Africa proved to be the most popular stand to shop at this year. With their official World Cup mascot, Zakumi, by the stand, it is easy to see why; it was his first public appearance in Europe. The organisers were well prepared for the surge in popularity however, ordering double the amount of protea, their national flower, and also doubling the amount of their famous wine. However, the main attraction was the ball and the number 10 t-shirt, both signed by all the players in Slovenian national football team and donated by the Slovenian Football Association. Both were later sold for a whopping EUR 1,500, the biggest sale at the event.

And for the rest...

New to the event was Israel, who were also quite popular amongst the buyers, with their cosmetics and jewellery on display. Irit Savion-Waidergorn, deputy chief of mission to the Republic of Slovenia, said she loves diplomatic bazaars. “It shows a different face of the country, it is not about politics; it is about young people, jewellery, culture, art, cosmetics, and without deliberate marketing,” she added.

Slovenian and Italian stand.

The Slovenia Times

Photo: Mediaspeed

Football’s coming come

The Americans were busy as always, with Christmas books for children being the product to have this year. So were the Slovenes, but more from the international visitors rather than locals.

The Indian stand, with their traditional fabrics and spices on offer, were swamped too, as were the Chinese and Japanese stands.

Great support Everybody helps out to put this occasion together. “SILA gets a lot of support from embassies for the event,” Ms Marie Prelog, president of SILA said, “with many ambassadors’ wives chipping in.”

As for securing sponsorship, Barbara Por-Hrovat, SILA’s secretary, said it is not a problem since the event is popular amongst the sponsors, with many donating on a regular basis. “We have a lot of loyal sponsors, from large international companies as well as indi-

viduals,” Ms Hrovat said.

The support for the event was shown by the presence of highpowered visitors. Ambassadors, charges de affairs, CEO’s of major Slovenian companies, such as Mercator’s Žiga Debeljak, were all there. So was Barbara Türk, the Slovenian First Lady, who showed great admiration for this occasion.

“It’s a great effort to put it together,” Ms Türk said, “it is really a big job to organise this, but it is for a good cause and all the ladies know that. And the embassies do a lot, too – they have to persuade the companies from their countries to contribute.”

“And it is not enough to offer products,” she added, “you have to find people to buy things, so I always urge people to come and buy, because otherwise it makes no sense”.

The beneficiaries What started in the 1990s as a social club and an opportunity for embassies to present their countries to a newly independent Slovenia has certainly become an established organisation. As Ms Pro-Hrovat said, “We have come a long way from 16 years ago when we had between 15 and 20 embassies”.

This year’s event is expected to raise EUR 80,000 from 5,000 visitors. The proceeds will mainly go to SOS Telephone, an organisation that helps victims of domestic violence; and Zarija Ljubljana, which helps people who have suffered head injuries from accidents.

Marie Prelog, the president of SILA.

Culture 43

Film

For the Love of Liffe Liffe, the central Slovenian film festival made its 20th appearance. Despite the absence of a-list stars, this classic, mid-sized film festival keeps getting extremely positive feedback from the audience, and has been constantly sold-out.

by Polona Cimerman

F

or the past 20 years, November in Ljubljana is anything but a rather depressing, murky, rainy month with ever shorter days and temperatures approaching zero. November is the month in which the dreams of true Slovenian film devotees come true – thanks to Liffe (Ljubljana International Film Festival), the largest Slovenian film festival and one of the country’s biggest cultural events.

It all began in restless 1989 with a desire to present high-quality film production to the forming Slovenian audience. The initiator and first film director of Liffe, Jelka Stergel, launched the first edition of the now already traditional festival in 1990. The rest is history. Liffe’s popularity and size has grown year after year, and the festival has become one of the most anticipated and cherished cultural events in Slovenia.

It is true that Liffe cannot be compared to its more famous and glittering neighbouring festivals such as Venice and Sarajevo. “Our starting point is different. We do not put that much emphasis on marketing and premieres, and the festival lasts less than half the time of the other two mentioned. Our goal is to show good films to the Slovenian audience.

Liffe is a classic, mid-sized film festival,” says its current programme director Simon Popek, “however, in terms of Slovenian standards it is the leader. Grossman’s festival [trash, horror, etc.] and Kino Otok [world film] are much smaller and more specifically oriented.”

Variety is the Key Today this well-established festival attracts nearly 50 thousand visitors, who can choose from around 100 films and indulge in them for 12 days. The years have strengthened its identity, yet its primal devotion has remained the same: Liffe is committed to European film production, promising filmmakers, rarely screened films, and esoteric films from distant parts of the world. “The key to success lies in variety,” says Popek. Liffe offers a wide selection of the best, most interesting, and most often awarded films of the past seasons, and also presents a thematic or author’s retrospective. What always attract the Slovene audience are great authors and winners of Cannes, Berlin, and Venice festivals. “These are always sold out,” Popek observes.

“Interestingly, the Extravaganza section with its weird, extreme, experimental films is becoming more and more popular, especially among the younger Liffe visitors.” Besides that, Popek says he always picks some films he knows will not attract many people: “This is usually an unknown production that is more serious and more difficult to grasp. But such choices are worth the risk for they broaden the horizons of the film medium. I strongly believe that fine festivals do not only have hits, but also incorporate films of this kind in their programmes.”

who go see an average of 4.5 films during the festival. According to Popek, “most of them do not visit multiplex cinemas. There is a great shortage of qualitative non-commercial film during the year, and people who attend Liffe need to compensate for this in the 12 days of the festival.” He finds it necessary to cater to all such needs, and says that he wants “that even those film fans who have a slightly more extraordinary taste are able to find a film that would appeal to them.”

This year Liffe aimed at a new segment of audience: children whose right to “different” youth film production is too often neglected.

Kinobalon, a new section, was introduced because Popek believes that one of Liffe’s missions is the “education of future critical film audience.”

Life has a lively accompanying programme which abounds in

interviews, round tables, social gatherings, and visits from filmmakers and actors. However, Liffe has never hosted a global star. “I would love to have an A-list film star at our festival, yet I believe the input would not pay off.” He believes no one would truly benefit from such a visit, and it would also not give the festival better recognition.

Liffe is sometimes perceived as a secret which should remain wellkept to retain its unspoilt charm.

Popek says this means it has a lot of potential to attract more international visibility. However, over the years it has firmly established itself as a trademark with a loyal audience and has become synonymous for pure cinematic pleasure with a permanent mission of supporting the future of good film production.

Winners of the 20th Liffe This year, the films were arranged in 10 sections and four awards were given: Kingfisher Award (the Perspectives section): The Blacks (Croatia) FIPRESCI: Go Get Some Rosemary (USA) Dragon Award: I Killed My Mother (Canada) Best Short Film Award: Missing (The Netherlands)

The Blacks

Demanding Viewers Liffe’s audience consists of more demanding viewers of all ages

I Killed My Mother December 2009

44 CULTURE

Jazz

Back to the Future With Kino Šiška, Ljubljana’s newly established concert venue, up and running, the capital has made a bold step towards becoming one of the region’s liveliest cultural destinations. In November, a number of high-profile jazz performances under the aegis of Brane Rončel, Slovenia’s renowned jazz impresario, set the standard of excellence that has until now been seen only at the best European jazz festivals.

By Marko Vuković

L

jubljana’s jazz festival, a meeting point for jazz fans from home and abroad, is certainly one of them. Many listeners who came to Kino Šiška to check out the latest in contemporary jazz trends must thus have had a sense of deja vu; the venue’s concert hall is consciously modelled upon the gently sloping open-air amphitheatre of the legendary Križanke in the city centre, where the festival takes place every summer.

This is not where similarities end, however. Rončel has succeeded in bundling together a string of concerts, spanning from the music of Miles Davis to contemporary explorations of fusion between jazz and electronica. In this way, he upheld the tradition of offering an eclectic musical choice to jazz fans that is also the hallmark of Ljubljana’s jazz festival.

Slap it!

Marcus Miller, one of the world’s best known bass players and the man who helped propel Miles Davis towards the more accessible smooth jazz style, justified his reputation as a versatile band leader

Nils Peter Molvaer The Slovenia Times

not afraid to plunge into more commercial-sounding arrangements.

Playing songs from Miles’ Tutu album, which he produced himself, he soon had hips swinging and hands clapping to the Prince-influenced funk, the hallmark of the synth-heavy album that defined Davis’ career in the 1980s.

Interspersing this late-night jazz for lovers session with his trademark slap bass style, employing virtuoso finger work on the instrument, Miller treated the audience to pounding, fat bass lines that came in seemingly furious, yet tightly controlled bursts, literally sending shivers down the spines of listeners. Bringing out his entertainer side, he proved that he is no stranger to using his instrument as a guitar and percussion.

His solo exchanges with sax and trumpet might have sounded uninspired at times, but the band pulled it off in the end.

Christian Scott on the trumpet played smoother than Miles, the sound not so haunting and atmospheric, but more attuned to contemporary tastes shaped by the more approachable smooth jazz movement.

Marcus Miller

The avantgardists Nils Peter Molvaer’s performance, on the other hand, was a

no-holds-barred journey into depths of ambient grooves. Molvaer’s signature trumpet style, economic in expression, yet rich in texture and emotions conveyed, wou nd itsel f a rou nd programmed beats that mostly stayed in the background.

The music was mostly finely phrased and laid-back, erupting at moments into a veritable heavy metal gig, together with guitar power chords and thunderous drumming. Stian Westerhuis is obviously a fan of the famous avant garde composer John Cage; using the bow to play his guitar like a violin, his contribution to the ambient feeling of the performance was crucial. One knew that one was in for something else when percussionist Audun Kleive took off the high hat of his drum set and started to tap it gently with his fingers, introducing the Molvaer’s whining trumpet.

The jazz fest ended on 3rd December with the performance of the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble.

EVENTS 45 Art

Zoran Mušič Nov 24–Feb 28, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, EUR 5

The Slovenia Times Recommends

Songsmith

Vlado Kreslin holds his traditional December concert with guests.

The Ljubljana Museum of Modern Art is hosting an exhibition by one of the greatest figures in European art, the Slovenian painter and printmaker Zoran Mušič (19092005). Mušič would have been a hundred years old this year, so this is a celebration to commemorate his life and work. He lived and worked in Venice and Paris. After the Second World War he made a name for himself as one of the most prominent artists of the Paris School. His work was strongly influenced by his experience as a prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, which served as an inspiration for his best known series of paintings, “We Are Not the Last”. The exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art brings together a selection of works from all the periods of his artistic career.

Kreslin is the most well-known and widely-popular Slovenian singer-songwriter, with the ability to sell out any Slovene concert venue. No wonder his performance in Cankarjev dom has to be repeated three times to satisfy demand. This December – as in every December in recent years – he appears on stage with a variety of musicians from, a rock band to his Prekmurje ethno ensemble Beltinška banda featuring both his parents. Traditionally, Kreslin also invites a surprise guest musician.Kreslin’s record Namesto koga roža cveti (Instead of whom the flower blooms), was released in early nineties and a big surprise for his fans.demonstrated Deleted because there was no sign what that referred to.

The longtime rebel, with his band Martin Krpan, sang about urban culture and rotten politics, experienced an emotional, regional and visual transformation.

His songs moved towards his native land (Prekmurje) and he became touched by the scent of homemade gibanica, the iconic dessert of his region.

The “man with the black guitar,” as he became known, had taken a journey from his homeland to rock and roll and then back again. We can say that Vlado accidentally discovered this formula for success. The result, however, is emotional music, which in one way is closer to his folk roots, but in others is very open to all kinds of innovations. The Cankarjev dom concert

Classical

The Magic Flute

Gregorian

Dec 10, 8 pm, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, EUR 12–30

Dec 10, 8pm, Tivoli sports hall, Ljubljana, EUR 34

Rock

Tinkara Kovač Dec 10, 8.30 pm, Kino Šiška, Ljubljana, EUR 15 Tinkara Kovač is one of the most renowned female singers and

is his best opportunity to present the power of his music and to thank all of his faithful listeners over five decades of his life.

14-16 Dec., 7.30pm, Cankarjev dom; EUR 13-26

Choral music

Gregorian is a group of classically trained singers performing international pop and rock hits in the style of Gregorian chants.

Their performances are enhanced by spectacular stage design and costumes. This German vocal and instrumental group is led by the renowned music producer Frank Peterson and has collaborated with such artists as Enigma, Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, José Carreras, Placido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli. The singers perform a wide variety of music, ranging from church music and Christmas carols to pop and hard rock hits by artists such as Björk, Metallica, Lenny Kravitz, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, R.E.M. and many others.

Vlado Kreslin

The symphonic orchestra of the Slovene Radio and Television will perform one of Mozart’s most renowned pieces, The Magic Flute.

The piece will not be performed in its entirety, but there will rather be a selection of arias. Mozart composed it in 1791, four months before his death. The composition has remained popular until today and is one of the most frequently performed classical works ever.

The conductor for this performance will be the talented American Evan Christ. musicians in Slovenia. After thirteen years in the music business and several critically-acclaimed albums, she is returning with her new album called “The Best Of”, which is a compilation of all her best and most familiar songs. She has been absent from the musical world for a while due to her pregnancy, but now she is back with a new lease of life. Besides having a great voice, Tinkara also plays the flute and was influenced by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson in that department.

Experimental

The Stroj: Laika Dec 11, 9pm, Kino Šiška, Ljubljana, EUR 8–10

original and inventive. The concert in Kino Šiška will take place to present their new single “Laika”, to commemorate 52 years after the Soviet Union launched the first spacecraft with a living creature on board into orbit. This was a dog named Laika and this is the first song from the new album with the new line-up. Their new concept with a singer is called Kymatikon and will be presented in Kino Šiška.

The Stroj is a very special group of performers. Their shows in the past usually included nothing but percussionists banging on basically anything they could find. Their line-up has changed recently, so their new compositions also include a female vocal, but their performances are still highly December 2009

46 EVENTS World music

Shanbehzadeh Dec 11, 8.15pm, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, EUR 9–18

Saied and Naghib Shanbehzadeh are father and son who live in Paris, but focus on music and traditional dances from the Bushehr province in Iran. This music includes Persian, African and Indian rhythms, sounds and melodies. Saied is very traditional in his performances: he spins on the stage as if in a trance and captivates the audience with dance and music played on his Iranian bagpipes. His son performs with the same enthusiasm.

Gypsy folk

Bregović & Guča Dec 12, 8pm, Tivoli sports hall, Lj, EUR 34.5 The composer and world music artist Goran Bregović will play a con-

cert with Dejan Petrović and Dejan Lazarević’s orchestras, the winners at the famous brass band festival in Guča, Serbia in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Goran Bregović, the former leader of the biggest Yugoslavian rock band Bijelo Dugme, rose to international fame as a composer of film music (also American movies) and a world music artist, where he focuses on the elements of Gypsy Balkan music.

est studio album entitled Love 2, which is their sixth studio effort and was released earlier this year.

Their hits include songs like Sexy Boy and Kelly Watch the Stars, two tracks we could frequently see and hear on MTV as well. Their style reflects a variety of different influences, including a number of 1970s electronic music artists such as Vangelis, Jean Michele Jarre and Tangerine Dream, the psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd and the chansonnier Serge Gainsbourg.

Dec 14, 8pm, Tivoli sports hall, Ljubljana, EUR 39–45 The French electronic pop duo Air consists of Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. They have been around for more than a decade, releasing music which combines ambient electronic influences with pop. This year they have embarked on a tour in support of their lat-

Zuma Festival Dec 16, 9pm, Channel Zero, Ljubljana This is the second edition of the alternative rock festival Zuma. The first one included names such as Willard Grant Conspiracy, Terry Lee Hale and Chris Eckman, while this one will feature The Frictions from Slovenia, Gatuzo from Croatia and Monotonix from Israel.

Musical contest

Epic RockLine Contest Dec 17, 8pm, Rock Cafe Epicenter, Postojna, no admission

Electro pop

Air

Alternative rock

Opera

La Traviata Dec 15–16, 7.30pm, Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, EUR 20 La Traviata is one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most famous operas. The music reflects a variety of emotions and influences. We can hear light-hearted dance hall music and very profound passages as well.

Almost anyone who knows a little bit about music has heard at least some parts of this work, which has been performed all over the world for many years.

Metal

Noctiferia Dec 15, 7pm, Kino Šiška, Ljubljana, EUR 10–12

The RockLine website is organising its first contest to promote young and talented bands. The contest will mostly feature Slovene bands, but there are two Croatian competitors as well. There will be two concerts a month all the way until the end of May 2010, when there will be one final performance by the three best bands to determine who will get to record an album for free. This second evening will feature 2 Slovene punk rock bands (Cosa Nostra, Taking Over Mars) and a Croatian one (Eksodus).

Jazz

Hippy Christmas Dec 19, 8pm, Hotel Mons, Lj, EUR 20 Christmas time will be marked by a concert, where we will be able to enjoy such Christmas hits as Let It Snow, White Christmas, Jingle Bells and the ever-present Silent Night. The performance will feature the vocal talents of renowned female singer Alenka Godec, who will be accompanied by the Big band of the Slovene Radio and Television, conducted by Tadej Tomšič.

Christmas concert

Noctiferia is a Slovene metal band, which has been active since 1992.

Their music has roots in black and death metal and as of late they have been experimenting with industrial music as well. At this concert they will be presenting material from their new record, entitled Death Culture. One of Slovenia’s most popular metal bands will be helped by two other Slovenian metal acts – Dickless Tracy and Mordenom.

The Slovenia Times

RTV Symphonic orchestra Dec 20, 6pm, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, EUR 12–34

EVENTS 47 Some of the most beautiful Christmas carols from Slovenia and abroad will be put into Christmas stories. The narrator is legendary Slovene actor Jurij Souček and the conductor Patrik Greblo. The concert will also include performances from the Slovene vocal trio Eroika and the children’s and youth choir of the Slovene Radio and Television.

Rock

Bajaga started his musical career in Riblja Čorba, one of the biggest Serbian and Yugoslavian bands.

He then went on to form a new band, where he was the leader. He began his own path in the early 1980s and soon made an impact.

He has penned many hits, which include “Plavi safir” and “Muzika na struju”. Fans of nostalgic Yugoslavian rock surely won’t want to miss this traditional Christmas concert at the Lent festival hall.

Bajaga & Instruktori

Classical

Dec 25, 9pm, Festivalna dvorana Lent, Maribor, EUR 22–25

The Nutcracker

story “A Christmas Carol”, which talks about a mean misanthrope who changes his ways. This is a timeless story combined with timeless music and ballet dancing.

Film

Bovec Outdoor Film Festival Dec 29–30, Kulturni dom Bovec, Bovec, no admission

Dec 28–29, 6pm, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, EUR 16–25.5

According to the organisers, the festival will present quality productions, whose linking topic is outdoor life. In other words, it means short movies about mountaineering, free climbing, ice climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, windsurfing, wave surfing, kitesurfing, hang-gliding, paragliding, skydiving, B.A.S.E. jumping, caving, canyoning, skiing, snowboarding, trekking, skating, diving and similar. The festival will be accompanied also by lectures on the same topics. All events will take place at the Communal Hall in Bovec and will be admission free.

Classical

New Year with the philharmonics Jan 1, 6pm, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, EUR 16–35

This is a ballet fairytale by Youri Vamos, who also directs and designs the costumes for the performance. Vamos took the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and upgraded it with the Charles Dickens

• • • • • •

Between December 29 and 30, Bovec will host the 3rd Bovec Outdoor Film Festival – BOFF.

This year’s celebratory programme will be made up of popular arias and orchestral pieces. The conductor for the concert will be Ivan Repušić, while the role of the solo singer will be performed by Inva Mula, who lent her voice to the diva Plavalaguna in the movie The Fifth Element, which was directed

by Luc Besson.

Competition Programme The Elephant: Educational Animated Film Programme for Schools and Families Best of the Rest Stop Motion Retrospective Focus on Finland Six Animated Feature Films

• Three Exhibitions: Matti Hagelberg in Kinodvor, Katja Tukiainen in KUD France Prešern and Špela Čadež in International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC) • Two Audio-Visual Concerts: Katalena Animated and Eduardo Raon with nejaaka and Luka Umek in Deceiving Light

The Gambler for 25 Years

HIT celebrates of gambling in

First Steps

In the 1970s and 80s decaying catering industry of Gorica had its focus on reorganization and not business. The fact that it has now evolved into one of the strongest engines for gambling and tourism in the Central Europe may be a surprising one to some. In those days, the image of Nova Gorica was far from tourist. The economic policy was preoccupied with establishing industrial giants, aiming to create an economic centre of Northern Primorska; trade, tourism and catering industry could not keep pace with industrial development. Consequently, all attempts at tourist development fell through. The only major investment was the 1976 Hotel Argonavti project, which failed soon due to poor construction and management as well as the absence of other tourist offer.

Hit is Established

Catering industry in the Goriška region was represented by numerous companies, which included two hotels, some restaurants, bars and taprooms. The true predecessor of the Hit company was a business Gostinstvo Rožna Dolina.

Owing to the specific business practice and an employeestimulating system that in many aspects deviated from a widely used wage-leveling philosophy of the time, the company soon experienced a remarkable boom. Then, again reorganisation of many tourist catering services took place, creating a united company HGP Gorica (with 310 employees), which led to the establishment of Hit. A new aspect in the company’s operation was the incorporation of Hotel Argonavti and a gambling permission found by chance. Intensive preparations for the first gaming house in Nova Gorica had started, representing introduction of a new activity - gambling. In the same year a new Roulette Casino was opened in Hotel Park and it included 30 slot machines and a La Boule table. The majority was convinced that no gamblers would come to Nova Gorica - which was indeed no tourist destination then – while others argued that gambling should not be a part of the city’s development strategy. However, the time proved that the company’s management plans were be realistic.

Crossroads and turning points

Time brought different turning points in the company’s development. The first was a decision to adopt the American type of gambling. A new business strategy in 1986 meant changing a name into Hit - Hotels, Casino, Tourism. The Park Casino has made a division between classic gambling and entertainment tourism, setting a new trend. Rapidly growing number of visitors meant increasing hotel capacity, widening offer, new jobs, and investments. In a period of ten years Hit renewed several catering companies, otherwise undoubtedly doomed to failure, and became a leading tourist company in Slovenia. In 1989 a casino was opened in Rogaška Slatina, in 1991 in Tolmin and Kranjska Gora, and in Otočec in 1992.

A new turning point came with the Perla Casino Hotel, established in September 1993, which represented a model of effectively intertwining gambling and entertainment tourism offer, a unique one in Europe. At Hit’s 10th anniversary, its formula of entertainment tourism received an international acknowledgment, while its competition started systematically copying Hit’s development concept. In spite of an affair,

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s 25 years n Nova Gorica unfavourable tax legislation and an investment ban, the company keeps on developing. Fast growth, entrepreneurial innovation, business excellence, quality service management and high employment level make Hit an entrepreneurial leader in Slovene tourism.

In the second half of the 1990s, the company has focused on developing gambling services, improving knowledge, and gaining experience. Due to restrictions in Slovenia, Hit has embarked on expansion in former Yugoslavia and worldwide. The Casino Caribe on Bonaire Island (Netherlands Antilles) was opened in November 2001 and the Coloseum Club was established in July 2002 in Sarajevo. The latter soon became the most popular entertainment spot in the city.

The biggest investment was refurbishment and expansion of Maestral resort in Montenegro in June 2004 which was soon proclaimed as the best hotel in the then country.

Space on the Western border was filled up by the gamblingentertainment centre Aurora in Kobarid and the Dama Casino in Gornja Radgona in November. The number of Hit Casinos was complemented by the Casino Drive-In in Vrtojba in April 2006. The Casino Kristal in Umag and the gamblingentertainment centre Mond in Ĺ entilj were finished and opened in 2007 and 2008.

New strategy

The lastest development period has brought new markets and new products, making the Hit enterprise a multinational corporation with numerous destinations. Besides Nova Gorica it has become a leading company in Kranjska Gora, Bovec and Montenegro. The golden period for profit and self-sufficient business ended because of operation range and complexity. The company has accepted a new development strategy till 2012 because of altered law and market conditions of operation. However, it will have to undergo a thorough revision on account of crisis and new development footing build-up. Two important signposts show a way of necessary investment into contemporary and trendy gambling or non-gambling tourist offer on the one hand, and on the other hand they show that legislation changes, capital increase and tax decrease are inevitable. By all means the company’s focus today is solving momentary position and increasing possible income.

Economic crisis and the future

The economic crisis has made a greater impact on gambling and tourism than on any other field of economy.

People tend to save money on luxurious and unnecessary services. The future of the enterprise is not dependant only on management and employees, but on the country itself, which has to ensure competitive operation terms.

The company is decreasing costs wherever possible, yet a lack of investment resources is prevalent. The Republic of Slovenia is in need of professional discussion, modern activity development strategy and legislation that would make gambling a part of Slovenian tourist strategy and consider activity development trends in the European Union. The company’s aim is to reach a consensus to define the role of gambling in Slovenian tourism. The new strategy should be made by the government shortly and hopefully this is a beginning of a new, contemporary legislation.

50 PEOPLE

Peter Mankoč

Aiming at Tenth European Title Peter Mankoč is a swimmer and has been that European winner in 100m individual medley in the 25-metre swimming pool an impressive nine times. He has won this title every year from 2000 onward. Twice, he has become a world champion; he set a world record and has won a dozen of other medals. At 31, his ambitions remain unchanged – new records.

By Marjan Žiberna

eter Mankoč was born on 4th July 1978 in Ljubljana, where he has lived ever since. At the time, that day was a holiday: the Day of Combatants celebrating the courage of Yugoslav Partisans rising against German Nazis in 1941; maybe the spirit of that holiday was somehow imprinted in Mankoč, the best Slovenian swimmer of all time. He has been a true and courageous fighter in the swimming pool throughout his career. It all started when he was four and he learned how to swim with help of his grandmother. Later, in elementary school, he was asked to join the Ilirija Swimming Club on the basis of his results in a swimming test.

Karl. Family has always played key role in Mankoč’s development into a top-level athlete, as he never forgets to emphasize.

In childhood, his grandparents played an important role, because he spent a lot of time with them due to the long working hours of his parents.

In later years, his father, a successful businessman, resumed this important role as the main supporter and motivator helping him with achieving his results.

Mankoč says that he could never have made it in sport like swimming where the top-level training is hard and time-consuming on one hand, and on the other the sponsors’ input relatively small without the help and support of his family.

But once he’s in the pool, Peter has always done it himself. He was progressing all the time, winning medals on the national level and setting records in his age group.

His career went through a crisis when he started high school. Relatively tall and strong – today he is 192 centimetres tall and weighs around 87 kilograms – he was flirting with basketball, which has been his second favourite sport, But swimming won and after a year-long crisis he was back in the swimming pool for good.

His career continued with international success. He swam on his first Olympic Games, in Atlanta in 1996, when he was 18. He also took part in the next three Olympic Games in Sydney, Athens and Beijing. But his greatest results were achieved in shorter disciplines on European Championships. His speciality is medley, because he is very good in all four swimming styles. He’s well known for his fast start and brilliant turn making him a hero of 25-metre swimming pools.

Fast progress

Successes and injuries

P “I’ve always competed for affirmation and acknowledgement, because the money to be earned in swimming is small change compared to football and basketball.”

He started training regularly accompanied by his grandfather The Slovenia Times

Mankoč first worked with the coach Mišo Sladoje, but when he

got sick and later died, Dr. Dimitrij Mancevič started taking care of Mankoč’s sports progress.

Mancevič is a Belarusian swimming expert who was invited to Slovenia in 1991. Mankoč was 22 when he won gold medal at the European Championship in 2000 in the 100 m medley under Mancevič’s leadership. It was his first out of nine he has gathered so far.

Last summer, he was very well prepared, but his hopes of success on the Beijing Olympic Games, where swimmers compete in 50metre swimming pool, were shattered by injuries.

“That was a really hard time for me. I didn’t find it easy to face with the shoulder injury, after I had trained so hard and was ready for a first class result. Otherwise, I feel that the Olympic Games are grossly overrated and that everybody else benefits from them far more than athletes, but I really wanted an Olympic medal from Beijing.”

Mankoč has been facing injuries as do almost all top-level swimmers. “People think that swimming is a sport almost without the injury risk,” he explains, “but that is true for recreational swimming. In top-level swimming, the forces and the physical strain are so great that knee and shoulder injuries are quite common. Often my problem is that I train too hard. I am fully aware of the fact that in order to achieve top results one has to train extremely hard, so it had happened quite often that I was training that hard even when I was feeling I was on the verge of getting injured. The hope that it will somehow turn out for the best was shattered many times – my great wish to train as much as I can often resulted in injury. But top-level sport means always facing your edge all the time …”

Considering the six to eight hours daily that he spends training, one might understand the injuries more easily.

PEOPLE 51 No weight or shoe size categories …

In his opinion, the mind – one’s motivation – is essential in toplevel swimming; if you have this aspect working for yourself, a lot of goals that first seem completely out of reach become possible and accessible. It is also his mind that enables him not to dwell upon his own disadvantages but to use his advantages. He has to work against the fact that his hands and feet are relatively small for a top class swimmer, the span of his arms not as wide as in some other swimmers. The best swimmers usually have the span of the arms 20 centimetres wider than their height is but Mankoč’s span more or less equals his height.

“I cannot influence any of these things, so I don’t think about them,” he says. “When you’re in the water nobody asks you about the size of your hands or span of your arms, and no one rewards your smaller hands with a medal ... There are no weight or height or arm’s span or shoe size categories in swimming.

Just as nobody asks you about your training conditions – which are, by the way, very bad in Slovenia – the only thing that matters is how fast you are in the water. That ‘s why I rather think about how to train as well as possible and about my advantages; I have a very good ‘feeling for water,’ I’m one of the world’s best when it comes to underwater turns ...”

Mankoč’s motivation for competing is affirmation, the acknowledgement as he says, because there is very little money to be earned in swimming even for one of the best; definitely small change compared to football or basketball. In his opinion, the state should financially award its top-level athletes appropriately. He sees the wider social significance of sport in the example they represent; they are very good role models especially for young people.

“The role of the top-level athlete, who is also a representative and promoter of his or her country, is important,” says Mankoč, “but for me a far more important as-

pect is the effect of this person in his or her own country. Research has shown that investment in toplevel athletes proves profitable on many levels. Kids who see their sports idols’ devotion, hard work and persistence (and being adequately compensated in the material sense), run out joyously to the sport grounds, to sport halls and swimming pools, which is – as we all know – a great way to stay out of drugs, delinquency and other troubles. In my opinion, the Slovenian state should take better care of their top-level athletes.”

Ambitious plans Mankoč is also critical of the changes of rules considering the swimsuits that have been changing a lot in the last two years. He’s supportive of the international swimming federation’s (FINA) provision to allow only textile swimsuits from waist to knees starting with 1st January 2010. He feels the provision might even be a bit drastic, but neoprene swimsuits meant devaluation of former swimming achievement, and most of all they were in advantage of a certain type of swimmers; very

strong, muscular swimmers with relatively worse swimming technique. However, at the beginning of December in Istanbul he wants to win the European Champion title for the tenth time in a row, so he’s preparing for the competition in neoprene swimsuit that is still allowed to the end of the year. His ambitions for Istanbul are even higher – breaking the world record in 100-metre medley.

The competition is also the reason for his trip to Font Romeau, a training centre in the French Pyrenees, located 1850m above sea level. “I try to go to train in the high altitude at least once a year,” he says. “It results in ‘better’ blood with more erythrocytes delivering oxygen around the body and enabling better results. The natural level of erythrocytes is also not to my advantage, it’s relatively low compared to my competitors and high altitude training helps me compensate this.”

At the moment Mankoč is employed as a top-level athlete at the Ministry of the Interior, but after he finishes his sports career he plans to finish his interrupted study of economics and work in swimming, mostly as a manager and adviser. But he’s not thinking about ending his sports career soon. Nowadays, it takes him longer to recuperate after extreme physical strain than it used to, but on the other hand the years of systematic hard work brought experience he hadn’t had before.

Regardless, his drive to achieve and exceed new milestones is intact – as it was ten or more years ago. “Who knows, I might swim on my fifth Olympic Games 2012 in London … But before that there are many big competitions, European and World Championships …”

“I’ve never given much thought to the fact that I have smaller hands and feet and that my arm span is not as wide as in other competitors. When you’re in the water, nobody asks you about the size of your hands or span of your arms and no one rewards your smaller hands with a medal ...”

At the European Championship in 25metre swimming pool that will take place in Istanbul in the first half of December, Mankoč aspires to the tenth European Champion title in the 100m medley and hopefully setting a new world record.

December 2009

52 IN MEMORIAM

Tomaž Humar 1969-2009

Too Close to the Sun A world renowned Slovene climber Tomaž Humar was fatally injured last month while descending the south face of Langtang Lirung in the Nepalese Himalayas.

By David Aleksander

T

he life of one of the world’s best mountaineers ended while attempting a new route in a solo ascent on the south face of Langtang Lirung (7,227 m), a notoriously dangerous mountain in northern Nepal. A single distress call was received by his support group, informing them he had been injured and was afraid he would not make it: “I have broken my back and leg. It would be difficult to locate me with a helicopter.

My pulse is weak and I think I am going to die.” He added: “This is my last …” before phone connection was lost. Three Sherpas tried to find him at the alleged altitude of 6,300 m but their attempts were unsuccessful. Tomaž was later found dead by a Swiss helicopter at a much lower altitude, which suggested that he had tried to reach base camp on his own. It is still unclear what actually caused his death and we will probably never know the exact answer. His body was buried in the following days in the Himalayas upon the request of his family.

First encounter with (own) death After seeing his friend and coclimber blown from the mountain in front of his eyes, Humar turned to making solo ascents. In 2005 he tried to become the first climber to conquer the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat (also known as the Killer Mountain), having been denied this privilege two years prior due to bad weather. The

second expedition was accompanied by media frenzy that involved an internet broadcast and close scrutiny of Humar’s every step. While climbing Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face (with 4,700 meters of precipice the highest and one of the deadliest in the world), the weather suddenly got a turn for the worse. For six days at the altitude of 6,300 m and temperatures hovering around -10 oC Humar was pinned down to a narrow ledge due to a continual onslaught of avalanches; his strength and faith were seriously tested and it was not known for

a long time whether a rescue attempt was possible at all, which made many people in Slovenia fear for his life. He was eventually rescued by Pakistani helicopter pilots, who were later decorated with Slovenia’s highest award for bravery, causing his next attempts to be carried out under a cloak of secrecy in which not even his closest friends knew he had been contemplating another expedition to the Himalayas. In 2007 he made a solo ascent to Annapurna I (8,091 m) to mark the 20th anniversary of his mountaineering career, once again silencing his critics.

Climbing too close to the sun Considered one of the best mountaineers in the world for

his daredevil climbing style, Humar made over 1,500 ascents of which more than 70 had not been tried before. His 1999 ascent on the south face of Dhaulagiri opened a new chapter in mounta i neer i ng a nd v ia i nt e r n e t b r o adc a s t brought high-altitude mountaineering closer to the people. His numerous successes (like the 1996 Golden IceAx for ascending Ama Dablam) won him international fame and established him as one of the world’s finest and bravest mountaineers.

Humar was at the forefront of the movem e nt t h at r e volutionised Himalayan high-altitude mountaineering by making fast alpinestyle solo ascents with little safety equipment, earning the recognition of many as the best of his generation. His remarkable determination also made him overcome a potentially debilitating injury after falling to his back when building a new house; when doctors said he would never walk again he proved them wrong and within two years returned to mountaineering.

Tomaž Humar once stated: “Every mountain has a soul. If the mountain doesn’t accept you and you don’t submit to her will, she will destroy you.” It so occurred that the majestic Himalayan mountains, the place he loved so much and which were his haven from the world, had called him on his last journey and accepted him as one of their own.

Slovene deaths in the Himalayas Humar’s death is the second Slovene death this year and fourth in the past two years in the Himalayas. From 1977 onwards there have been more than 20 Slovene deaths in the Himalayas, three of which were not directly related to climbing but involved drowning in a river after slipping on a rock. In the 1990’s there were 11 deaths of Slovene climbers, either due to bad weather, being blown from the mountain or exhaustion due to altitude sickness. In the new millennium the recent death of Tomaž Humar has now raised the Himalayan death toll of Slovene climbers to ten.

The Slovenia Times

SPORTS 53

Nordic Skiing Preview

Laying the Foundations for the Future Ski jumping has traditionally been popular with Slovene winter sport fans. It still is, but with poor results in recent few years, despite ambitious efforts, the focus is shifting to other Nordic activities, such as crosscountry skiing. After winning nine times last year, it will be difficult for Petra Majdič to further raise her game.

By Simon Demšar

Photo: Mediaspeed

W

inners or not, ski jumpers are always at the centre of attention. Changes and new approaches have yielded little over the last couple of years, but things, including finances, have still remained “under control.” With contracts usually being made until the next Olympic Games, this season could be crucial for the future of ski jumping in Slovenia. Another poor season might well discourage sponsors from renewing their contracts for the next four-year period.

Regarding results, the burden will rest on the shoulders of Robert Kranjec and Jernej Damjan, two established members of the national team. Kranjec’s optimism is based on the second overall position in the summer Grand Prix competition, behind Swiss star Simon Ammann.

“Things look easy now. I enjoy jumping, and it has become a matter of routine. I can only hope that I will be able to keep the momentum until the competitions on snow,” said Kranjec.

Jernej Damjan took a gamble, similar to that of Alpine skier Tina Maze, and decided to form his own coaching team, led by former Slovene national team coach, Finn Ari-Pekka Nikkola. Damjan wasn’t quite able to raise all the necessary finance, though.

“Everything didn’t go according to plan during the summer and our cooperation was limited to phone conversations,” said the always optimistic Damjan, who trained with the Finnish team in

High expectations for Robert Kranjec.

the days before the opening event of the new season in Kuusamo, Finland. “Without mistakes, he can make long jumps but there are still too many ups and downs in his performance,” commented Nikkola.

Primož Peterka, 30, the overall World Cup winner in 1997 and 1998, deserves admiration for his efforts to make a comeback. As in last year, he will begin the season on Team B, hoping to raise his game in time for the Olympic Games in February. Other hopefuls include Primož Pikl and Mitja Mežnar, while some observers can’t wait for Peter Prevc, 17, to come of age and show his talent at the highest level.

Cross Country & Biathlon Petra Majdič is by far the biggest star of not only Slovene but also international cross-country skiing.

There are few challenges left for the runner-up of last year’s overall World Cup and winner of nine World Cup events last year alone.

However, there is one – winning an Olympic medal. She was still learning the ropes in 2002 in Salt Lake City but cracked under pressure in Turin in 2006.

“It will be extremely difficult to win a medal and probability-wise, there is actually more chance that I won’t make it. If there was justice in the world I would definitely

make it but unfortunately, there isn’t any,” said Majdič, 30, who might end her career after the Olympic Games.

However, her team mates are already waiting in the wings and have made a huge step forward: Anja Eržen, Vesna Fabjan, Barbara Jezeršek and Petra Majdič have qualified for the Olympic Games in the 4 x 5 km relay at this season’s opening World Cup event.

The men’s biathlon team was handicapped by injuries last year while the women’s team missed Tadeja Brankovič and Dijana Ravnikar, who were having babies. Everything is back to normal now and both teams have been further boosted by a brand new biathlon centre in Pokljuka.

Teja Gregorin, who surprisingly won a silver medal at last year’s world championship, will be a favourite for the highest positions also this year but things are more unpredictable in a sport that combines agility and precision.

Action Comes to Slovenia Slovenia will host three Nordic skiing events this season. Between 16th and 20th December, Pokljuka will host women’s and men’s biathlon events while Rogla will welcome world’s best cross-country skiers at the same time.

On March 20th and 21st, the Ski Flying Championship will take place in Planica.

Football

Boxing

Corruption in Slovenian Football?

Fight for the Crown

Slovenian football premier league team Interblock from Ljubljana is being investigated by the UEFA under suspicion that it fixed a result of its game in the third qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League. Interblock played the match in question in Ljubljana in August against Ukraine’s Metalurh Donetsk. The Ljubljana-club lost the match 0:3, after losing the first match a week earlier in Ukraine 0:2. Interblock is among forty clubs from East and Southeast Europe which are being investigated by UEFA over possible match-fixing and illegal betting.

Slovenia’s top professional boxer Dejan Zavec has been picked by reigning IBF welterweight champion Isaac Hlatshwayo of South Africa as the one to challenge him in Johannesburg on 11 December. Zavec labelled his first world title opportunity as an historic moment. Zavec will be the first challenger of Hlatshwayo, who claimed his title a little over four months ago in Las Vegas. Zavec, who suffered his only defeat so far last year against the then European champion Rafal Jackiewicz, is preparing for the December face-off at a slightly higher altitude to get accustomed to Johannesburg’s lie at 1,753 metres above sea level.

December 2009

54 SPORTS

Football World Cup

Full of Nobodies, but Full of Spirit Robert Koren, Samir Handanović, Milivoje Novaković, Bojan Jokić, Marko Šuler or Mišo Brečko. . . . Who are they? Unlike famous players such as Andrei Arshavin or Zlatan Ibrahimović, these are the participants of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Where do they come from? Well, from a tiny country of merely two million inhabitants, squeezed between Italy, Hungary, Austria, and Croatia.

By Igor Evgen Bergant, RTV Slovenia

The Fairytale’s Cliffhanger Ending But the climax of Slovenia’s “Golden Generation” in South Korea ended in disaster. Tensions between manager Katanec and the only star in his team, Zlatko Zahović, the best ever goal scorer of the national squad, exploded during the first match of the 2002 World Cup in Gwangju vs. Spain.

Zahovic furiously reacted after The Slovenia Times

Photo: BOBO

“

Our country fits almost exactly into a local community in Moscow,” trifled the alsonot-so-well-known team manager of Slovenia, Matjaz Kek with journalists in the Russian capital before the first play-off clash at Luzhniki Stadium. But after the second tie in Maribor, which forced the inglorious exit of the the “Sbornaya,” led by “magical” coach Guus Hiddink, he added: “It was evident that our hearts were bigger than the whole of Russia.

It was our incredible will and the team spirit of my boys, which gave us the upper hand.”

Strangely enough, the excitement of taking part in a major football event is nothing new for this nation of only 30,000 registered football players. Exactly 10 years and one day before the big victory over Russia, Slovenia secured a place in the Euro 2000 tournament by gaining a 1-1 draw in the snowy play-off return leg against the Ukraines in Kiev. In Belgium and the Netherlands, the team was managed by former VfB Stuttgart and US Sampdoria midfielder Srečko Katanec and produced a fine brand of football.

It lost only to Spain (2-1), though gaining draws with then SerbiaMontenegro (3-3 after a 3-0 lead) and Norway (0-0). Two years later the team caused another sensation by qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. This time, it was Romania, coached by Gheorghe Hagi, which was shocked by the Slovenian “dwarves” in the barrage.

having been substituted 30 minutes from time, and Slovenia lost 31. The most dramatic consequence was a total demolition of team morale. Zahović was suspended from the squad, which still remained torn apart by different factions.

The team of players, hailed as heroes, refused to offer proper resistance in the remaining matches (1-0 vs. S. Africa and 3-1 to Paraguay), and returned home as a gang of zeros. The myth of Slovenian football seemed dead and buried for decades, although Katanec’s successor Bojan Prašnikar still managed to lead his team into the Euro 2004 play-offs against Croatia. But the Slovenians, including a bettertempered Zlatko Zahović, lost the tie by 2-1 on aggregate.

This was followed by a more apparent decline after 2003 when Branko Oblak took over the team.

Oblak (age 62) may have been voted the best Slovenian player of the 20th Century and scored the first

goal by a Slovenian at the World Cups (1974 as member of the Yugoslav team vs. Zaire, 9-0), but he failed to form a tightly-knit team out of a bunch of new players. At least he brought in some of the almost forgotten sons of Slovenian football: especially strikers Milivoje Novaković, who made his way from the bottom of the 4th Austrian Division over Bulgaria to Cologne, or Zlatko Dedić, who strolled around a variety of Italy’s 2nd tier clubs as a trainee at FC Parma. Very few of the football fans knew back in 2006, that these “secondos,” children of Serbian and Bosnian immigrants to Slovenia, were Slovenians at all.

Kek’s Magic It was Matjaž Kek, a former player and coach of Slovenia’s best known club outfit Maribor, who started to form a real team out of these boys when he took the team over from Oblak in the be-

ginning of 2007. It was a slow and sometimes a painful team-building process. Most of the players came from foreign clubs, leaving the weak Slovenian league in their early days. But none could really claim star status. So, Kek was able to form a extremely well-organised and compact group of equals around the axis Samir Handanović, the gifted goalkeeper of Udinese Calcio, Robert Koren of West Bromwich Albion, who matured in Norway and captured the outside role of the leader and captain of the team, and Milivoje Novaković, a reliable striker, who is said to be the internal “ideologist” of the new born team spirit.

During the 2010 qualification the squad grew with every game and didn’t lose faith when it stumbled by failing to defeat the declining Czechs twice, and lost to Northern Ireland at Windsor Park. But the Slovenians managed to perform impressively in the later stages of

SPORTS 55 the campaign by beating Poland 3-0 at home and Slovakia 2-0 as visitors. Finally, they were unluckily denied a direct qualification after a win at San Marino due to a victory by the Slovaks in Poland, with the help of a Polish own goal.

In the end, the tie against Russia was a matter of team spirit.

“Our hearts were greater than the whole of Russia,” Kek said.

Slovenia profited from the brilliant organization of its 4-4-2 formation, solid and collective defensive play (which allowed the opposition no more than a total of six goals in 12 qualification matches), and their enthusiastic fans. “Our stadium in Maribor is a stronghold,” captain Koren explained, saying it is another secret of Slovenian success.

The partly refurbished football arena for 12,000 fans in the second largest city in the country – the biggest stadium in Slovenia, usually produced mockery by all recently visiting teams before the matches. But every single one was finally staggered by the atmosphere produced by Slovenian fans.

Football Assimilation It is an urban myth that Slovenia pumps its footballing abilities from the resources of former Yugoslavia. Back then, Slovenia was by far the least developed republic in this sport. Football was even despised by the public for being the sport of the immigrants from southern parts of the former multinational state. It is true that many of the current team players were born in Slovenia, but their families originate mainly from Bosnia and Serbia.

But this has never been a public issue. “Do not forget: all of these players are products of our own coaching know-how and we should be more proud of that,” Kek explained after the celebration parties were finally over.

However, since the independence of the country in 1991, the team, which has qualified twice for the World Cup, is still waiting for its first victory against a national squad at the senior level from other parts of former Yugoslavia, even in a friendly match.

But now, after the draw with Russia and its upcoming trip to South Africa, nobody cares.

It doesn’t matter, nor does our size. Football, at least the national team, is “in” in Slovenia; it attracts massive support from the public and even serves as role model and source of optimism, especially for young people, who struggle with finding themselves in times of trouble.

Ski resorts

Size Isn’t Everything It is impossible to expect that Slovene ski resorts would ever be able to match those in neighbouring Austria and Italy in terms of size, and the facilities are often still not on par with those abroad. However, there is something “boutique” about Slovene ski resorts that makes them different and far from the “ski industrialisation” that sometimes characterises bigger and more fashionable places.

By Simon Demšar

T

ogether with the expected Slovene clientele, “...other guests include mostly skiers from south-eastern Europe who keep coming back,” says Janez Antolinc, deputy director of the Chamber of Mountain Resorts of Slovenia. Similarly to other places, Slovenia has been hit by the global financial crisis. Last year, it was reflected in lower numbers of foreign guests, but they were replaced by the domestic ones opting to spend their winter holidays and weekends at home instead of crossing borders.

The location of Slovene resorts is a considerable comparative advantage, as you usually don’t have to drive much more than half an hour to reach the nearest ski slope (at least not if you are based in central or northern Slovenia). With EUR 28 for the most expensive one-day ticket, Slovene resorts are also generally cheaper than those abroad.

For hardcore fans, the chamber has introduced “Active Slovenia” a discount card. For EUR 20, its bearer is entitled to a 20% discount on one-day tickets at all Slovene resorts as well as other benefits, such as discounts in selected restaurants, sports activities, museum entrance fees and similar. For more information, visit www.activeslo.com.

According to Antolinc, last season was good, better than the one before. In terms of snowfall, it was

the best for a long time, but ski resorts were a bit unlucky with a lot of bad weather. There were a total of 1.6 million tickets sold. Antolinc admits that snow conditions are only one of the factors that attract skiers; others include amenities and overall tourist services of a particular place.

Skiers’ demands are changing, especially those of resort guests.

“People are increasingly inclined towards short holidays several times during the winter. They demand more and more, especially in terms of apres-ski services. Another important thing is an individual approach to ski teaching.

It’s better for learners and teachers alike,” Antolinc reckons.

He also agrees that winter tourism is a tricky one and relying on winter and snow conditions alone can be short-lived. In this view, resorts increasingly work on year-

What’s New? Kanin is now linked with Italian resort Sella Nevea. A single ticket allows access from both sides.

Kranjska Gora has further improved its Fun Park, which is now illuminated for skiing and fun in the evening.

Krvavec has created a new range for children and beginners.

Rogla will host Winter Sport Festival between 18th and 20th December, with four cross-country world cup races as its highlight.

Cerkno has built a new snowboard and ski snow park.

Mariborsko Pohorje has erected a new funicular and arranged a new track with a six-chair ski-lift and a new terrace.

round programmes. One trend in Europe is to make other seasons comparable to winter in terms of income. To this end, some Slovene resorts have introduced quality summer programmes that include cycling, trekking, summer sledging and similar. Waiting for snow and guests in simply no longer enough. “Resorts that don’t adapt their services and facilities to new trends and situations will be condemned to struggling to survive in the long term,” says Antolinc.

Pohorje, Rogla, Krvavec and Kranjska Gora are good examples of such practices. Together with the above-mentioned activities, they successfully offer sports clubs camps and tailor-made programmes for groups, such as children, adolescents, senior citizens and others.

So when you feel like skiing, log onto www.snezni-telefon.si, check the latest weather conditions and hit one of the slopes. Don’t have time during the day? No problem.

There are an increasing number of illuminated slopes, where you can ski from around 6 to 10 o’clock in the evening. Stari Vrh is the closest one to Ljubljana and Mariborsko Pohorje is reportedly one of the longest illuminated tracks in Europe.

The resorts with traditionally the best snow conditions are Krvavec (it usually opens the first and closes the last), Kanin and Vogel.

December 2009

56 Happy New YEAR

A Step into the Next Decade It is that time of year again. Time to say goodbye to old sins, and embrace new resolutions. Time to dance late into the night, or snuggle up in some hideout. Whether you prefer to spend New Year’s Eve partying to the max, or enjoying a quiet, secluded dinner, all are available.

By Maja Dragović

Join the Street Party Next to the Ljubljanica River Every year, city officials organise a massive New Year’s party on the streets of Ljubljana’s medieval ‘old centre.’ Traditionally, the main party is held on Presernov Trg by Tromostovje (The Three Bridges), with a perfect view of Castle Hill.

There is also a programme for the younger generation on Kongresni Trg, where they will be entertained by Mambo Kings, Shank Rock, and Big Foot Mama. This year the party extends onto Mestni Trg, Gornji Trg, and Trg Francoske Revolucije (French Revolution Square) where a number of rock bands are lined up to entertain you all night long.

C M Y CM MY

The city is lavishly decorated, and complemented by a festive fair that has around 50 vendor stands with all the trimmings. Almost inevitably, the town is covered by snow to create the picture perfect New Year atmosphere. And plenty of mulled red wine to keep you warm!

And then, at midnight, the skies above Ljubljana will be set alight by fireworks from the castle hill that will bring to a close the end of 2009 and announce the beginning of 2010. The New Year programme starts at 9pm and ends at 3am.

CY CMY

K

Party Down the Slopes For the young and energetic and those who love the snow, the Pohorje ski slopes above Maribor are the perfect place. On New Year’s Eve, the slopes are open until 10pm, with the last cable car going up at 9pm. The party atmosphere is fantastic, with little bar huts situated along the slope, playing all kinds of music to suit your party mood. So, get on your skiis or snowboard, and while you’re heading towards the bottom of the slope, stop off for a drink or two and warm your bones. The cable

cars are free of charge at night so there’s no extra cost for this privilege. The view – breathtaking; the sound – exhilarating; the feeling – unforgettable.

For those who’d like to enjoy night skiing as a prelude to a more sophisticated entry into the New Year, Hotel Habakuk is situated at the bottom of the Pohorje ski slope. There will be a great programme offered, with live music and dinner late into the night. You can enjoy great views of the Maribor center when the fireworks go off at midnight.

The Romantic Souls

If you are planning to spend New Year’s Eve alone with that someone special, Lake Bled is the perfect location. Head up to the restaurant at Bled Castle to make the most of the romantic nature of the place, and where views of the lake and its surroundings are pristine. Town officials are also organising a street party so you can enjoy the full view of the fireworks at midnight. A New Year’s dinner at the restaurant costs 150EUR per person and includes aperitif, eight-course meal, gentle, romantic live music, a new year’s gift, and a glass of champagne at midnight.

The Slovenia Times

Happy New YEAR 57 So Close, Yet so Far Away from the Snow

Underground Christmas The Postojna Cave, the mysterious underground beauty, also offers sanctuary to the heroes of the Bethlehem story about the birth of the Saviour in this time before Christmas. This is the twentieth year that the enactment of the nativity scene will take place in this cave. The biblical story takes place in the most beautiful stalactite rooms of the cave. The visitors can look at the nativity scenes casually, as they walk through the cave.

Choirs from all over Slovenia and abroad will contribute to the holiday spirit in an original way. The

If you prefer milder temperatures, a bit of a winter sea breeze, and not so much snow, then head to the Slovenian seaside. With a coast that is only 46km long, all towns are close together and allow you to easily bop to different parties in different places. In Piran, the main celebrations are on Titanijev Trg, starting at 9.30pm and continuing until 3am. The square itself is reminiscent of an

open-air museum, with narrow streets and densely built houses that give it a special charm.

In Portorož, the organisers have put up a large tent by the marina where the band Platana with Nuša Derenda will be entertaining guests from 8pm until 2am. The traditional New Year fireworks are held at 6pm but plenty more happen at midnight.

Welcome to the Karst This picturesque region in southwest Slovenia is renowned for many things. Nature has marked it with many wonderful caves, through which many Krastic rivers flow. The region’s fertile red soil is full of vines, which gives us such wine as Teran. The strong north winds are responsible for the region’s other typical specialty – the Karst prosciutto. The history of this region, which is at the boundary between the Slavic and Romanic parts of Europe, is also very varied.

The Turizem Kras organization unites all of the aforementioned elements in its offer. The most important matter is caring for the Slovene tourist pearl, the Postojna Cave, one of the most beautiful underground caves in the world, which encompasses almost 22 kilometres (14 miles) of stalactite shafts, galleries and halls, which nature has formed through the millennia. A unique underground train takes you into the well-lit and tidy inside, while the professional entourage ensures your well-being.

The Postojna Cave is open all days of the year, without exception. The tours are adjusted according to the time of year.

The most visits to the Postojna cave happen during summer months, while adjustments are made for visits during winter.

From November until March there are regular tours of the cave at 10am, noon and 3pm. Tours can also be organized at different hours for previously arranged groups.

At the entrance to the Postojna Cave we can see the mansion Jamski dvorec, which has been changed into a modern festivities centre, ideal for organizing exclusive events. The mansion is distinguished by typical Italian architecture of Pietro Palumbo from the start of the 20th

century. There is so much room in the mansion that there can be up to a thousand guests in it at the same time.

The mansion is pervaded by the smell of Slovene dishes and the secrets of the culinary delights from Karst and Inner Carniola. The mansion is renowned for having the dishes cooked in an old-fashioned way, in traditional pans.

You will be able to eat food made according to preserved old recipes, but done in a modern way.

All of the elements of the offer are rounded off by group experiences that we organize for closed groups. The team building with trained guides is adapted to the wishes of the clients and includes several unique elements like cave trekking, treasure hunting and similar underground adventures.

Fans of history will certainly spend some interesting moments in the Park of Military History, a museum centre which is situated in the area of old Italian barracks in Hrastje, Pivka. The visitors of the Park can now see the exhibition “Regio Carsica Militaris”, which shows the many thousand years of military and fortification heritage of the strategically important Postojna Gate. Besides that, the visitors can also see the tank and artillery collection, which is made up of the most valuable tanks and other heavy weapons. The collection is complemented by the exhibitions “United in Victory”, which shows the Slovene war for independence in 1991, and “A Tank is a Bunker and Tomb”, where we can see stories by people from Pivka who operated tanks during the Second World War. The surroundings of the park offer a look at the bunkers of the previous defence line and reconstructions of historical battles are often played out here as well. advertisment

www.turizem-kras.si

nativity scene will be accompanied by a Christmas fair, a chocolate fair and by festivities on the platform in front of the entrance to the cave. The special feature of this year’s nativity scene is that it is enriched by music because every enactment will feature the greatest Slovene diva Helena Blagne and musical legend Oto Pestner.

The music that accompanies the scenes is timeless, the theme is Christmas and is appropriate for this occasion. The nativity scene is performed by young people from Postojna and the surrounding areas.

Signing of a cooperation agreement between Slovenian marketing society, represented by dr. Maja Makovec Brenčič, and the Public relations society, with its president mag. Aleksander Salkič.

Masters of good taste: Wine expert Robert Gorjak, Master Chef Janez Bratovž and Danilo Flakus, the boss of Dveri-Pax winemaker, at a press event.

Fashion Designer Maja Ferme at a show with her designs.

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

Ajša Vodnik (AmCham), deputy U.S. ambassador to Slovenia Trevor Evans; Tomaž Lovše (Diners International) and Prime Minister Borut Pahor at a dinner marking the 10th anniversary of American Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia.

St Nicholas charity concert sponsored by Rotary Club, dedicated to raise funds for socially deprived school kids. (photo: Stane Sršen/RTVSLO) Bosnian Dubioza Kolektiv at their performance at Yu-go part 3 event in Kino Šiška. (Photo: Maja Kaplan)

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