In the closing speech after the election, Marjan Podobnik said that the party would be facing the future with great confidence. He thanked the Delegates for their trust and noted that the party has a hard job ahead of them. The first task will be to establish a voters’ base in municipalities where it is not yet present.

He stressed that the party is open to all and that there would be no more exclusion and expulsions. "We want to present ourselves as an open, broad and modern SLS, which, with respect to its roots, looks confidently toward the future," explained Podobnik.

Of the 159 delegates who handed in the ballot papers (more had the right to vote), Podobnik git votes from 148 delegates, with eight voting against him. The party also elected the new vice-presidents of the party – Franc Bogovič, Suzana Lara Krause and Modest Motaln (which was automatically elected together with Podobnik). Members of the main, supervisory and executive boards were also elected at the congress.

Marjan Podobnik had already led the party in 1992-2000. He was the first president of the party after its renaming to SLS from the Slovenian Peasant Union - People's Party. Prior to Podobnik, the party had been led by the elder of Slovenian politics, Ivan Oman. SLS then had eight presidents in 18 years. Will Podobnik be able to return SLS to the parliament?