The money spent on the referendum is next to nothing compared to the financial damage the vote has caused to the project. "Six months were stolen from the project. Experts know how many millions the second track would bring in that time," the paper says.

The referendum was yet another example showing that the concept of democracy is misunderstood in Slovenia.

The issue should never have been put to a referendum, as it involves infrastructure that is strategically too important for the country and because most Slovenians are simply not qualified to decide on it.

Referendum debates, where "unacceptable violent rhetoric and even fists were used" have only confirmed that the speakers had no credibility.

"Democracy won today, but we can hardly say that the second track won too, because the opponents are announcing it a holy war."

The referendum initiators are now going out of their way to hide their political provenance.

It seems that certain interest groups manage to come up with a reason every year to postpone the construction of the second track, which Slovenia's competition and its traitors fear the most.

If Slovenia stays this reactionary, it can hardly expect any major achievements in the future, Delo says in today's commentary.