By: Sara Rančigaj
In September, the president of the SAB party shared news of the soldiers’ march on Triglav on online networks, commenting: “We can be proud of them! I hope that those who insulted them by calling them traitors, apologized… ”On the other hand, Bratušek refuses to financially support these same soldiers who are fighting abroad on behalf of the homeland with barely satisfactory equipment. She herself says she is proud of them, yet she refuses them better equipment, which would be used to secure their lives. As Prime Minister in the midst of the economic crisis in 2013, Alenka Bratušek gave the guarantee of allocation 2% of GDP for defence to NATO until 2024.
Discussions on the justification for increasing public defence spending, which accompanied preparations for NATO Secretary General’s visit to Slovenia last year, did not deter the at the time Prime Minister Marjan Šarec from promising Jens Stoltenberg an increase in spending in line with the Alliance’s goals. Despite the fact that the measure probably does not enjoy high public support, it was necessary, according to the Slovenian state elite, as it fulfills both its obligations to NATO and its own security, the Delo newspaper wrote two years ago.
Later, Delo also reported on the commitment of Šarec’s government to the NATO Secretary General that Slovenia would at least to some extent start adhering to the commitments of the Joint Defense Partnership and raise defence spending to at least 1.5 percent of GDP by 2024, if it is unable to reach the agreed-upon amount of two percent. Alenka Bratušek gave the guarantee of two percent of GDP in the middle of the economic crisis in 2013, but now she strongly opposes it. With NATO membership, the cost of defence, despite a request to increase the defence budget, is much lower than if the country had to take care of defence outside international defence alliances.
The hypocrisy of Alenka Bratušek
Bratušek’s commitment in 2013 is not the only proof of her hypocrisy. In September, the former Prime Minister shared a picture of the Slovenian Army at Triglav on her Twitter profile, where she wrote, among other things: “We can be proud of them! I hope that those who insulted them by calling them traitors, apologized… ”.
On the other hand, Bratušek does not support the law on the 780 million investment in the Slovenian army, as she estimates that healthcare, social and economic matters are currently the main priorities. However, she does not oppose the right to a referendum. Meanwhile, our soldiers on missions are fighting and risking their lives in and with barely satisfactory equipment. We never know what the future holds and it may happen that these soldiers, who are now serving their homeland, will have to fight for us one day, and NATO membership may come in handy.