Gregor Virant stepped down as the leader of the Citizens' List (DL) on Sunday after first official results from the National Electoral Commission showed the party only won 1.12% of the vote in Sunday's EU polls.
"We regret that we did't see more people turn out for the vote and that the DL has failed to achieve a better result. I believe the party deserved a better outcome," Virant said.
He described his resignation as the only "logical" move, one that is in accordance with the European standards of political culture.
The party will hold a congress ahead of the general election to elect new leadership and adopt a new manifesto, Virant, who serves as interior minister in the outgoing government, announced.
Virant has headed the centre-ground liberal DL since its inception in the run-up to the 2011 general election, in which the party won more than 8% of the vote to become a major kingmaker.
After wavering, the party joined the centre-right coalition headed by Janez Janša, but left it in early 2013 over a damning graft report, to join a centre-left coalition with the Positive Slovenia (PS).
Several prominent figures quit the party in the wake of the move and its public approval ratings started falling, especially as Virant failed to live up to the high moral standards he set for others.
Source: The Slovenia Times
