By: Dr Metod Berlec
The last head of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia and the first President of the Republic of Slovenia, Milan Kučan, has in recent days once again been frightening the Slovenian public with warnings about opposition leader Janez Janša. In an interview for Reporter, he claimed that a fourth Janša government would be “worse than all the others.” Of course, worse for those who secured privileges under the former regime or filled their pockets during the transition and would still like to live off the backs of the majority. And naturally also for all the NGOs and media aligned with the transitional left, which the current left‑wing coalition has been financially supporting, as well as for the ruling nomenclature that shamelessly spends our taxpayers’ money even on its own pre‑election self‑promotion.
In the latest issue of Demokracija, we publish an exclusive interview with SDS president Janez Janša, who offers a sharply critical assessment of the state of the country under Robert Golob’s government and of the broader conduct of the ruling transitional left. In his view, it is marked by ideological rigidity, a lack of competent personnel, and the systematic exclusion of political competition. He warns that the left has been building its power for decades on the same slogans and on manufacturing artificial cultural conflicts, all while neglecting the country’s real challenges. According to him, Golob’s government has no serious economic policy: it first dismantled the reforms of the previous government, then burdened the economy with bureaucracy, and is now, ahead of the elections, handing out “goodies,” strengthening its influence over key institutions, and driving up inflation and the public‑finance deficit. The opposition leader stresses that such a situation can only be changed with a different parliamentary majority. SDS is therefore building a “coalition with the voters,” while talks about post‑election alliances will come only after the election. He highlights two conditions for any potential partner: respect for the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and for the commitments of the European Parliament’s resolution condemning totalitarian regimes. SDS, he says, will no longer enter coalitions without a clear programmatic majority, as it has already twice taken responsibility in times of crisis, only to become the target of fierce political and media attacks and orchestrated judicial proceedings.
In the interview, Janša rejects the possibility of forming a post‑election government with the parties of the current coalition, arguing that key reforms would require a majority without the far‑left bloc. He sees SDS as the only party strong, experienced, and sovereign enough to offer an alternative to the current government, and identifies a strengthened NSi as its natural partner. He describes the differences between SDS and the left as fundamental: SDS advocates faster development, meritocracy, higher wages, entrepreneurial freedom, decentralisation, and energy independence, while the left, in his view, fosters dependence on the state, holds back the successful, taxes the creative, and introduces unrealistic environmental policies. The future of Slovenia, he argues, depends on the courage of voters, who can change direction and support a developmental, confident, and constitutionally grounded political course.