Parti populaire slovène
He entered politics during the period of democratization known as the Slovenian spring. In 1990, he joined the Slovenian People's Party and was elected as the first non-communist mayor of Idrija after World War II. In 1992, he was elected to the Slovenian National Assembly. During the coalition government between the Slovenian People's Party and the left Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, Podobnik served as speaker of the National Assembly (1996–2000). In 1997, he unsuccessfully ran for president of Slovenia, but was defeated in a runoff by the incumbent Milan Kučan.