After much too long Slovenia is on an encouraging path, but its success will depend on its ability to implement the necessary structural changes in the coming years. "The decisive question is whether what we have in common will prevail over what divides us," the president wrote.

"It takes courage to be tolerant and cooperate. Courage is to trust someone with a different opinion without assurance that this trust will be returned," he explained.

Pahor also noted that in 2015 a quarter of a century will have passed since the independence plebiscite.

"At that time, there were a million reasons for us to fail over distrust from the past. But due to our faith and responsibility for the future, there were two million of us who believed and succeeded."

"We have succeeded because we were courageous. Therefore we are our the best role models to ourselves. We will succeed today as well if there is courage," Pahor concluded.