By: Sara Kovač /Nova24tv
“Every day, both politics and the public must work together to maintain this with a calm and unifying rhetoric, not hatred,” said the SD party president in a confrontation with Defence Minister Matej Tonin on Saturday. Of course, she also did not forget to mention how distrust in the government is supposedly growing. “These interventions in independent institutions. Even in the media have become a self-evident regularity.” However, since it is not possible not to mention Prime Minister Janša, although she is supposed to be in favour of connecting rhetoric, she also stated the following: “The Prime Minister writes something cynical to me almost every day, even if I do not answer for 14 days. It does not matter; he likes to discredit political rivals.”
At the very beginning of the confrontation, SD President Tanja Fajon emphasised that it is necessary to be aware that danger always exists and that it is not self-evident that we live in peace today. Minister Tonin also agreed with that. “Democracy, freedom and all other values are something that need to be pursued every day. They are not self-evident. It is necessary to strive for them and not just talk about them. We politicians are primarily obliged to do this ourselves. Show more collaboration. I am convinced that people expect us to work together to make life easier and better for everyone,” he pointed out.
Asked why so few signatures were collected under the initiative, which says that politics supposedly put pressure on independent institutions, Fajon replied that it should not be so much about how this initiative will succeed or not. “Let’s rather ask ourselves why there are political pressures that are unacceptable. That is why we have had a constitutional charge in this country, a vote of constructive no confidence, we have people on the streets almost every Friday. Distrust of the government is growing. These interventions in independent institutions. Even in the media have become a self-evident regularity,” said Fajon, but of course she did not clearly answer how it is possible that with such great pressure on the opposition, no more signatures were collected.
Tonin: Not every criticism means pressure
Minister Tonin told home truth to Fajon and emphasised that every criticism does not mean pressure. Slovenia is a democratic and free republic, in the spirit of freedom of speech you can say what you think. At the end of the day, this can be expressed by people on Fridays, and also anything can be said at the expense of the institutions that wrote these letters. “Any discussion and word about their work does not mean putting pressure on these institutions. In a way, these institutions should accept that.”
Tonin pointed out that if one looks at the real picture then one can see that practically everyone can say whatever comes to their mind about the current government. “But of course we have to accept it.” The institutions that wrote this letter were involved in various things during the epidemic. “Nothing seems strange to me when something is said about their work. This does not mean that they are under pressure. If we do not agree with the decisions of the Information Commissioner in the case of the transfer of health databases of people who have applied for vaccination, this is part of freedom of speech for me,” he was clear.
Regarding the infamous non-paper in connection with the Prime Minister’s reaction to the recent events, Fajon stated that the Prime Minister allegedly wrote something cynical to her almost every day, even if she did not respond for 14 days. “It does not matter; he likes to discredit political rivals. I find it ridiculous that the government withdraws the label confidential, when this report by President Kučan was made long ago in the book by Dr Jože Repet (last 10 pages). I read this when Kučan was a special envoy from BiH and was looking for a possible way out of the complex situation in the country, which is still the same today.” According to her, it seems that in this case the government is turning its attention to the document, which after ten years it should no longer have such weight. As Fajon obviously cannot come to terms with the fact that the government has nothing to do with the infamous non-paper, she could not help but to claim: “Even today we have not heard from the Prime Minister what this non-paper, that actually changes borders, is. If we look at both documents, they are not comparable.”
The author of the non-paper, if it exists, is not the Government of the Republic of Slovenia
Tonin explained to Fajon that it is easiest to fight lies with the truth. “In recent months, weeks, a lot of ink has been spilled and words have been uttered at the expense of this government, saying how it has supposedly produced a non-paper on the new division of borders in the Balkans. The government simply did not do that. The only document with similar content is a document prepared by former President Kučan. This document says that if key institutions and policies within Bosnia fail to agree on serious reforms to help the country take a step forward, there is clearly no choice but to disperse peacefully.” Tonin pointed out that he simply does not understand Fajon as to why she thinks it is a problem for the government to remove the label as confidential, if part of the document has already been published in Repet’s book. “In fact, no one is changing the borders in the Balkans today. The borders of BiH and other Balkan countries are still as they were set after the last war.”
Fajon continued in her style and asserted how they were supposed to have a problem because this non paper exists. “It is known that its content changes borders. Not only in BiH, but also in Albania and Kosovo, which can really lead to bloody wars in the region. In Brussels, it is known to have rounded up from Slovenian diplomatic circles,” she claimed, while Tonin emphasised once again that the author of non-paper, if it exists, is not the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. “This has been said several times by the Prime Minister,” Tonin was clear.
Despite Fajon’s allegations, there are countries that do not participate in the European Prosecutor’s Office
Despite the fact that not a day goes by that Fajon does not slander the government or the Prime Minister it is not surprising that she has once again explained how the violation of the rule of law is supposed to become self-evident today. “Part of the freedom of speech is not to repeal the procedures for appointing delegated European prosecutors. The state prosecutor’s office has filed a complaint against the government,” she asserted. Fajon said that Slovenia was the only country that had not yet done so. “Believe me, such initiatives regarding debate do not come from one national delegation. We are in focus; we are on the wallpaper. The fact that we still do not have delegated European prosecutors appointed is a bad point for Slovenia. We will talk about this at the plenary, because this is the only country today.”
Tonin told home truth to Fajon and let her know that her claims were not true. Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, and Hungary are countries that do not participate in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. And Slovenia is cooperating in this matter. “In no way does Slovenia prevent the European Prosecutor’s Office from operating. It can continue to function normally as it should. At NSI, we are supporters of the rule of law, which means that procedures must be carried out in accordance with our national law. Under this legislation, at least three candidates should be nominated, from which two would then be selected on the European level. Despite the fact that four met the conditions, only two were selected. The procedure will be repeated and they will have the opportunity to choose two candidates from the proposed three.” In the end, Fajon emphasised that she really hopes that the preliminary elections will take place as soon as possible, as in her opinion, the situation in the country is bad. “I hope we win and form a government.” By doing so, she made it clear why we can observe their constant actions directed against the government, which, unlike the previous ones, is taking measures that benefit the citizens. Some just do not care about regulating areas that were previously neglected under their rule. The desire for power (money) is immeasurable.