Ljubljana - The Freedom Movement gained ground in the first post-election Vox Populi opinion survey commissioned by the newspapers Dnevnik and Večer polling at 38.4% after winning 34.5% of the vote in the 24 April election.

Dnevnik writes that this is the first time in 20 years that a political party enhanced its poll showing post-election in that way.

The Democratic Party (SDS) won the 2004 election with 29% of the vote but then went on to see its rating increase for the next few months to up to 37%. Similarly, the Liberal Democracy (LDS) won the 2000 election with 36% of the vote and then went on to go above 40% in opinion polls.

Polling at 38.4%, the Freedom Movement nearly doubled its margin ahead of the SDS, at 19.9%. Translated into seats, the share of support would give the Freedom Movement 45 seats in the 90-strong parliament.

Aside from the Freedom Movement and the SDS, only three more parties garnered over 4%: the Social Democrats (SD) polled at 6%, New Slovenia (NSi) at 5.8% and the Left at 5.5%.

The only non-parliamentary party to make any mark worth mentioning is the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) at 2.5%, writes Dnevnik.

The emerging coalition of the Freedom Movement, SD and the Left polled at 50%; if the LMŠ and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) merged with the Freedom Movement, the latter would have polled at over 40%, which would give the centre-left bloc 58 seats, against 30 mustered by the SDS and NSi combined.

Asked whether they thought Robert Golob, the leader of the Freedom Movement, was suitable to lead a government, over 60% of those questioned answered in the affirmative, against just over 28% who said the opposite.

Meanwhile, almost 57% assessed the Janša government as unsuccessful, against 33% who found it successful.

Golob is tied with President Borut Pahor on top of the popularity raking of politicians ahead of MEP Ljudmila Novak (EPP/NSi), who replaced outgoing Health Minister Janez Poklukar in third.

The respondents see tackling wait times in healthcare as the most important job for the new government (62.7%), ahead of mitigating rising prices (22.5%).

Seen as roughly of the same level of urgency are tackling pay policy (15.5%), increasing energy self-sufficiency with renewables (15.1%), enhancing rule of law (15.1%) and redressing harmful effects of policies of the outgoing government (14.6%).

The poll was carried out by Ninamedia between 10 and 12 May over the phone among 700 respondents.