By: Vančo K. Tegov
Parliamentarism is a form of governance in which the executive branch (the government) is politically accountable to the legislative branch (the parliament). The parliament is the central body that adopts laws, confirms the government, and can also dismiss it – for example through a vote of no confidence. The government therefore cannot govern without the support of a parliamentary majority. This is the foundation of parliamentary democracy.
Slovenia is a parliamentary republic: the president of the republic is mostly a ceremonial figure, while real power lies with the National Assembly and the government formed by a majority coalition. If the government loses support, this can lead to its collapse or to early elections. The aim is a balance of power, the prevention of arbitrariness, and regular oversight of those in power through parliamentary debates, committees, and votes.
Slovenia’s electoral system is proportional, as defined in Article 80 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. Voters elect members of parliament in eight electoral districts (eleven seats in each, plus two seats for the national minorities). Seats are allocated proportionally according to the number of votes each party receives. The electoral threshold is 4% at the national level – parties that do not reach it do not obtain seats. The proportional system allows smaller parties to enter parliament. It encourages coalition-building but can also complicate decision-making and lead to compromises or gridlock. Slovenia chose this system in the 1990s after a referendum, as it was considered to better reflect the will of the voters and prevent the dominance of a single party.
And yet. When we see chaos, baseness, threats – even physical ones or right at someone’s doorstep – and a complete absence of basic decency in politics, it feels as if the foundations of democracy are crumbling. Respect for rules, dialogue, and integrity become empty words. This is not just a Slovenian problem. Similar phenomena have appeared in many countries where political culture has become tribal – warring clans instead of a civilised public sphere. It resembles places where raw force matters more than arguments, and where politics turns into a circus or a fight for survival.
Instrumentalising a fundamental democratic tool to dismantle society
Parliamentarism and the proportional system are not to blame for this. They are merely tools. They work excellently when used by people with morals, ethics, and a culture of dialogue. But they become destructive when respect for institutions and for one’s opponent is lost. When physical pressure or threats appear, this is no longer political debate but a direct attack on the core of democracy: the safe space for discussion.
And that is exactly what has happened in recent days. Everything that should never surface has burst into the open. Abuse upon abuse. All civilisational restraints have failed – or perhaps they never existed. Charging and lashing out at anything that disturbed their harmful thoughts, malicious intentions, and actions, all for one single purpose: to preserve what was gained through deceit, theft, belittling the citizen, and pleasing centres of power – both overt and covert. This is about the bare survival of a fraudulent and predatory system and its visible and invisible patrons
The detractors of order and structure have modernised the old Roman maxim “Divide et impera” and adapted it to their own way of operating: “Divide, steal, rule, subjugate”.
They must not continue. And they never will again.
Is it time for something healthier?
This is where the maxim of common sense, honesty, and decency serves us well. This is not naïveté. History shows that democracies collapse or stagnate precisely when basic human decency is lost, when a politician or activist believes that the end justifies the means, when lies are proclaimed as “alternative truths,” and when an opponent is treated as an enemy to be destroyed rather than defeated with arguments.
That is why the time is now. It is always the time for something healthy and robust. Voters, the media, civil society, and politicians themselves have the power to demand this. Not through revolutions or new messiahs, but by insisting on basic standards: Politicians should answer questions instead of hiding behind lawyers and empty phrases.
Let us debate substance, not engage in personal attacks.
Let us demand transparency, not speculation about who is connected to whom.
Let us vote for those who show character, not just promises.
And if we have already done so, let us insist that it be carried out. We must see what is necessary, not only what is superficially appealing. What is appealing fades; what is necessary endures. Slovenia is not without hope. It has solid constitutional foundations, an educated population, and a long tradition of common sense – the kind that knows a house is built on solid foundations, not on lies and threats.
If we want order instead of chaos, it must begin with us: with voters who do not accept baseness, and with politicians who understand that they are servants of the people, not the other way around.
Common sense is not old‑fashioned – it is the only lasting remedy.