By: Peter Jančič
Thursday marks the official start of the campaign period for the European elections, and it will also be the deadline for filing all candidacies. Svoboda Party, led by Robert Golob, who has a lot of money due to its victory in the parliamentary elections, has already launched its campaign with posters across the country even before the official start. Moreover, they have already used their majority in the parliament to organise three consultative referendums, which they estimate will attract their voters to the polls, attempting to reverse the looming disaster indicated by public opinion polls: that most people will vote for the opposition SDS party, and express a no confidence vote to the ruling party. In the elections. And not in polls or government referendums.
Personally, I am not entirely clear on where Svoboda’s idea comes from that it will benefit them if they put marijuana and euthanasia as the most important issues on their flag. These ideas have so far been celebrated by fringe parties. Even less clear is why, if they are already close to these ideas, they simply do not legalise them. Whether to further liberalise marijuana use is not such a big and important issue that it requires a referendum commotion. However, the impression will be quite bleak, due to the grand promises of healthcare reforms, where we have only seen extensive purges at the top of healthcare institutions, and where Svoboda has appointed its cadres, yet people in the state healthcare system still do not get what they paid for and have to wait longer even for urgent matters, and on top of that, doctors are on strike. Which means they are working just slightly less. Instead of talking about healthcare reform, voters will now be asked if they would legalise more liberal marijuana use and relieve the state healthcare and social system with euthanasia, which are poorly functioning and, according to some interpretations, are disintegrating in the long term. Are marijuana and euthanasia really major reforms, worth millions for additional costs that will come with a referendum?
The death of candidate Manca Košir, who was not a supporter of euthanasia, although she judged on the left, will certainly mark the official start of the campaign. The state election commission will have to decide what to do with Vesna’s list, led by Vladimir Prebilič, on which, due to the death of the candidate, there will be five men and three women. There should be nine candidates, and no gender should be less than 40 percent. Three female candidates among five men are too few. This list could seriously take votes away from left-wing parties.
On the more right-wing side, the campaign will also be marked by the fact that entrepreneur Aleš Štrancar publicly supported former President of the RTV Slovenija Council Peter Gregorčič, whom Robert Golob’s government prematurely dismissed after a purge in the country’s largest media outlet, even though he did his job well. Symbolically, the support for the SLS list is important, Štrancar dared to publicly endorse it. However, he does not have nearly as much influence in the media as Stojan Petrič, associated with Kučan, who controls Delo and Slovenske novice, or Martin Odlazek, associated with Golob, whose empire includes radio stations, Večer, Necenzurirano, and various other media. In short, Štrancar does not have the influence that the left bloc has, which, when it comes to the media, controls almost everything. And what they do not control, they investigate and prosecute, as if we were back in the previous totalitarian system.
We are not entirely there yet, because public opinion polls would surely not indicate that things are going badly for the ruling party, as it would end badly for analysts who asked the wrong questions.
Svoboda has shown us how to ask the right questions with referendums.
What else could go wrong for them?