Young Carinthian Slovenians added a sense of drama to the proceedings when they interrupted the session with a protest song by Valentin Polanšek titled "Neighbor to Neighbor." They stated that they do not agree with the decision that only German is recognized as an official language.

The new provincial constitution mentions the Slovenian community in Carinthia for the first time ever. In April, umbrella organizations representing Carinthian Slovenians had asked for a change in Article 5 of the provincial constitution that mentions German as the sole official language of the province. Among other things, they had proposed recognizing that "German is the language of the province, which means that it's the language of the legislature and – notwithstanding the legal rights of the Slovenian national community – the administrative language of Carinthia."

Despite all efforts of Slovenia and the Carinthian Slovenians, the final proposal recognizes German as the only provincial language, but the constitution does describe Carinthia as a linguistically and culturally diverse province, something that is reflected in the existence of a Slovenian community.

K. T. (MMC), P. G. (RA SLO)
Translated by J. B.