Joy and pride in the Slovenian town of Melania Trump
Thousands of kilometers from the US, the small Slovenian town of Sevnica today celebrated the triumph of Donald Trump and is proud that its former neighbor Melania Trump is the future first lady of the most powerful country in the world. world.
"In Sevnica we are very happy that a woman from here, Melanija Knavs, has become the first lady of the United States. That news has really resonated very positively in Sevnica. On the streets you can see that people are happy," she says Efe the mayor of this Slovenian city, Srecko Ocvirk.
Melania, 46, is a native of Sevnica, a small industrial town of about 5,000 residents located in eastern Slovenia, a Central European republic of two million people.
She in Sevnica she finished college and then she continued her training at the industrial design secondary school in the capital, Ljubljana, where she started her first modeling jobs.
When she was still in Slovenia, Melania changed her surname from her Knavs to Knauss.
In 1988 she began her modeling career in Milan and Paris, and she moved to New York in 1996. Five years later she obtained permanent residence from her and in 2006 she became a naturalized American.
The mayor of Sevnica affirms that the town celebrates its local holiday this week and now the occasion will also be used to celebrate the victory of the Trumps, which, according to him, "is very important for Sevnica."
Ocvirk is convinced that Melania contributed decisively to the triumph of Donald Trump.
"The support of the wife is decisive," he opined.
He explained that in Sevnica they are grateful to Melania, above all, for having contributed with her good presence so that this place and Slovenia are known and recognized in the world.
"The most important thing is that Melania has represented, through her image in the media, also Sevnica and Slovenia in the world, especially in the US," he said.
Ocvirk hopes that the Trumps will now visit Slovenia and Sevnica, and also believes that her victory will contribute to an increase in foreign tourist visits.
Donald Trump never visited the place where his wife spent her entire childhood and was only in Slovenia once, for several hours, on the touristy Lake Bled.
It was in 2004, to ask Melania's hand, and the Grand Toplice Bled hotel, where Trump and the Knavs had lunch, has a photo of the meeting in its showcase of famous guests.
Some changes are already being felt in Sevnica today. In the center of the town, a large US flag has been raised to celebrate Melania Trump being the future first lady.
The joy for the triumph has even gotten to baptize a dessert in a local restaurant.
The "Rondo" pizzeria in Sevnica, as confirmed to Efe by one of its waiters, offers a special sweet, "Melania", made of cream, strawberries, mascarpone, yogurt, sponge cake and sugar.
"To celebrate the event a bit we have this special offer today," he says.
A citizen of Sevnica, Tadej, commented on public television TvSlo that the fact that the first lady of the United States is from Sevnica is a great honor for the place.
"Anyone can not be first lady. For us it is a great honor. We are proud," said Tadej, although he does not believe that the event will bring any concrete change to the place.
Another neighbor, Peter, considered that, thanks to Melania, Slovenia will be better known in the world.
But there are also neighbors who are not interested in the fact that the next first lady was born and spent her childhood there.
"Honestly, I do not care. That she is first lady does not influence in the least in the lives of ordinary people like me," he told Efe Elion.
Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar congratulated Donald Trump on his victory and stated that he was glad that "Slovenia, in some way, has held the position of first lady of the United States," reports the Slovenian news agency STA.
He commented that thanks to the origin of the first lady, Donald Trump will be better informed of the events in Slovenia. EFE
