The parties decided to file the demand after it became clear that the governing coalition, together with the Left, had no intention of changing the government’s position on the UN compact. The government said it plans to voice its support for the compact in three weeks time in Marrakesh.

The government is not hesitant. Foreign Minister Miro Cerar said Slovenia remains in the group of more than 150 countries, which have decided to jointly regulate mass and illegal migrations as no country can achieve that on its own.

Opposition calls for the government to change its position have been rejected at the parliamentary foreign policy committee, which is why there was no vote on the issue. Janez Janša, the head of the SDS, is convinced that the compact should first be debated in parliament and then by the government, and not the other way around. "So, you have left us with no other choice, but to file a demand for an advisory referendum," he added.