The next government will have a very easy job to do. Namely, it will only have to remove the harmful measures of the current socialist government. Janez Janša, the most likely Prime Minister of the next right-wing government, has already announced that the healing will start by giving back to the people the things that the Golob coalition has taken away, starting with economic freedoms.
Indeed, Janša has signalled with two important announcements that the future government will focus on economic freedom – unlike the current government, which, in less than three years, has burrowed into every pore of our society, further regulating an already over-regulated state and restricting people’s freedom to engage in the activities they want to do.
Janša has promised that [in the new government], after the elections, they will abolish the absurd restrictions on renting out properties through Airbnb and the restrictions on the Uber transport service, which were forced through by the taxi drivers’ guild.
“After the elections, we will abolish the nonsensical restrictions on renting out properties via the Airbnb platform,” Janša wrote on X, adding, “And introduce Uber. For the benefit and satisfaction of customers and service providers.”
This is a sharp departure from current policy, which only sees entrepreneurs as cash cows, who are largely silent and have to pay ever higher taxes, which the state then spends less and less rationally.
Government attacks free enterprise by banning Airbnb
Namely, the Golob government has approved a new hospitality bill that restricts short-term renting of apartments to make more of them available for permanent stays. The proposal limits letting in multi-apartment buildings to a maximum of 60 days per year and eight beds, subject to 75 percent consent of the other apartment owners. Consents would be valid for three years, and only natural persons with the status of landlord would be allowed to rent out apartments.
This is a direct attack on the owners of properties that are currently being rented out on the Airbnb online platform. The Association of Landlords has mentioned the possibility of initiating a constitutional review by requesting a temporary suspension of the law’s implementation. The authorities, on the other hand, argue that economic initiative is a freedom, but must not be exercised against the public interest.
Members of the Association of Landlords are convinced that the new law would wipe out 90 percent of private providers of short-term accommodation. According to a survey they carried out, the vast majority of landlords would not opt for long-term renting if the law were adopted, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reports. Landlords, who are directly targeted by the law, were not involved in the drafting of the bill. So far, they have managed to collect 3,200 signatures on a petition asking the government to resubmit the bill for public consultation.
But the government’s irrational, ideologically driven move will have serious consequences while failing to solve the housing problems it claims to address. Empirical data shows that banning Airbnb does not lower rents, but actually increases them – nor does it increase the number of available homes, as we have previously reported.
The Uber ban was a pre-election promise to the street
It is also worth noting that under the previous government, Slovenia voted a new road transport law that allowed the arrival of online transport platforms such as Uber. The amendment was supported by the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), the Modern Centre Party (Stranka modernega centra – SMC), the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (Demokratska stranka upokojencev Slovenije – DeSUS), the Slovenian National party (Slovenska nacionalna stranka – SNS), and the unaffiliated deputies, while it was opposed by the opposition Social Democrats party (Socialni demokrati – SD), the Left party (Levica), the Party of Alenka Bratušek (Stranka Alenke Bratušek – SAB), and the List of Marjan Šarec (Lista Marjana Šarca – LMŠ). The parties of the left-wing opposition have thus already proved to be hinderers of development and opponents of the well-being of Slovenia’s citizens. The Cerar government had already advocated the arrival of Uber in Slovenia, but due to lobby pressure, the idea did not take off until the arrival of the government in question, which decided to digitise Slovenia and make it more competitive, which is a prerequisite for greater prosperity for all.
And then came the taxi “street”, fighting for its privileges, led by the head of the self-proclaimed taxi drivers’ union, Dejan Jefim, who claimed that online transport platforms exploited workers, but in reality, of course, they were fighting for their monopoly and expensive transport. Taxi drivers were one of the main agitators for the left in the elections, even organising free rides to the polls. And after the elections, they were rewarded for it.
As one of its first measures, the current government repealed the legislation that allowed foreign transport platforms to enter the Slovenian market right at the start of the 2022 mandate. As a result, Slovenians still cannot enjoy the cheap online transport that almost all residents of major European cities enjoy. The consequences are a disastrous image of the taxi offer and a few big taxi players who take advantage of both customers and taxi drivers, who earn much less than they would if they were to participate in an online platform with their own vehicle.
The next government will move towards economic liberalism
It is, therefore, encouraging to see that the leader of the opposition, who will probably lead the next government, is in favour of policy measures that go in the direction of economic liberalism. Indeed, the Airbnb and Uber bans have a common denominator: they both represent a tendency towards more state, less entrepreneurial freedom and less economic autonomy for social stakeholders. Socialists want people who are dependent on taxpayers’ money, because such people are the easiest to control and direct. By announcing the lifting of the ban on Airbnb and Uber, Janša has announced a different policy – more in line with the global trends that have brought us Trump, Milei, Poilievre and Meloni.
M. I.
