By: Dr Metod Berlec
In the spring of 2022, before the parliamentary elections in April, I wrote in the book For a Democratic and European Slovenia – Against Totalitarianisms that Slovenia would be on the right path “if the centre-right parties, those advocating for unity rather than exclusion, succeed in winning the elections at the end of April and forming a government, and if we finally get a centre-right president of the republic.” “This would create the possibility for Slovenian society to become balanced in all aspects (politically, in the media, economically, and culturally), and for a true, practical, and not just theoretical, balance between the three branches of government to be established.”
This means that political power would be dispersed among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, in line with Enlightenment thinking, with each branch overseeing the others through the principle of checks and balances. “This would create the possibility for the long-overdue modernisation of the judicial branch in Slovenia, which is still haunted by the spirit of the former party. /…/” This was the reflection of former Demos leader Dr Jože Pučnik in his final interview for our magazine in September 2002.
Unfortunately, none of this came to pass. Quite the opposite occurred. In the parliamentary elections, the newly formed instant party Gibanje Svoboda, led by electricity tycoon Robert Golob, won a landslide victory. Along with the SD and Levica parties, they secured a strong majority in the National Assembly. As a result, they elected Urška Klakočar Zupančič as president of the “temple of democracy”, a person who is far from qualified for the position. And, of course, the harmful Golob government. In the fall, the presidential elections saw the victory of Nataša Pirc Musar, the choice of the leftist transitional privatisation network. People without political or intellectual depth came to power. People lacking basic democratic manners, filled with arrogance, self-importance, and ignorance. People who believe that political history begins with them. Literally, political imbeciles. As a result, we now have the most extremist, most leftist, and most anti-Slovenian government since independence. Immediately after its inauguration, we witnessed the abolition of the Office for Demography, followed by the closure of the Museum of Slovenian Independence, the abolition of the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Communist Violence, and the list goes on. The ruling party has managed to subjugate the Constitutional Court, or at least most of it, which was already predominantly left leaning, through a combination of political and media pressure, manipulated European interventions, and corrupt promises of rewards. Under the leadership of Matej Accetto, the Constitutional Court has become a lackey of the ruling left-wing coalition, quietly allowing them to shamelessly violate fundamental democratic standards. Therefore, the Constitutional Court’s recent decision to reject the request for a review of the constitutionality and legality of the recognition of Palestine, submitted in early July by opposition parties SDS and NSi, came as no surprise. It was merely a confirmation of the described shameful legal servility.
The situation is no better with the regular judiciary, which has been led since the beginning of last year by the notorious Miodrag Đorđević, who passively allows the judiciary to be once again used for political vendettas – for a reckoning with the “class enemy”. Week after week, we witness the farcical trial of SDS leader Janez Janša in Celje over the fabricated Trenta case, while real criminal activities (including within government ranks) go uninvestigated. Last week, we even saw how former judge Zvjezdan Radonjić, who refused to judge under the influence of others (and acquitted Milko Novič), was brought into the courtroom in Celje in handcuffs, despite not posing any threat. The message was clear: “If you do not judge as instructed, this could happen to you too; first, our media will completely discredit you, practically murder you in the media, then you will lose your job, and after that, we will prosecute you.” Without a doubt, one can agree with SDS leader Janez Janša, who commented on X: “The final straw. If this conviction against former judge Radonjić is upheld on appeal, the only option left is RESISTANCE. A general civil and national resistance against the regime’s arrogance, which enables the functioning of the deep state, tramples over people, and raises its own salaries to the sky.”
It is truly unbelievable how low the leftist dominance has brought us. And this does not even begin to address the fact that the transitional left now controls virtually all state institutions. If there was still any state institution or agency not in their hands in recent years, today there simply is not. The only thing remaining is the opposition in the National Assembly, led by SDS. But even they are beginning to face new challenges…