While the citizens of most European countries were backing Hillary Clinton in her race for the White House, the 5,000 residents of Sevnica in Slovenia bucked the trend and backed one of their own to make it to the West Wing. Once the home town of the next First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, the people of Sevnica gathered in a local pub to toast her husband’s surprise win during the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Speaking to Slovenia’s national broadcaster RTVSLO, Sevnica’s mayor SreÄko Ocvirk said: “Every American election is important, but this is very special for us. It created a sense of excitement for us in Sevnica and we have been following developments with interest.”
Born Melanija Knavs, the former fashion model left the town to attend school in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, before emigrating to Italy and the United States. She gained residency in 2001 and became a citizen in 2006. Her parents still live in Sevnica and local media reports that the new First Lady made a donation to the local hospital in honour of the birth of her son Barron a decade ago.
#Sevnica #Slovenia home town of @MELANIATRUMP celebrates as @realDonaldTrump is named USpresident #USElection2016 #ElectionDay #election2016 pic.twitter.com/MP9wE8zqvH
— Matej Leskovsek (@MatejLeskovsek) November 9, 2016
Now the people of Sevnica are hoping their association with the wife of the new President-elect will bring new opportunities their way. To celebrate Donald Trump’s win, a local baker created a new dessert in honour of the First Lady, a mixture of yoghurt, strawberries, mascarpone, cream, biscuit crumbs and sugar, called the Melanija.
Musicians also took to the streets playing and singing an ode to her, with lyrics describing a woman who “went from Sevnica straight to the top of the world, because she found the right husband.”
Another verse adds: “Melania now walks the path of fame, the United States want her, her homeland plunged into grief because her stay at home was so brief.”
V Sevnici že fešta! #ElectionNight @PlanetTV pic.twitter.com/7MI9TLCUOn
— anja markovic (@anjamarkovic5) November 9, 2016
Elsewhere in Slovenia, Politico reports the election result was met with cooler praise by some of the 2m inhabitants of the country. “Maybe more Americans will be able to find Slovenia on the map,” said Jasna Rajnar Petrović, a student living in Ljubljana.
“She does not come across as a warm person to me. I see her more like a doll. I don’t see any love for the homeland from her.”
Melania Trump is only the second foreign-born First Lady in the history of the United States. The wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, was born in London.
