By: Dr Vinko Gorenak
When I observe the events in the country under the leadership of the ruling coalition, sometimes I really do not know what is true and what is not, and often I am not even sure if they are mocking us, the citizens, or if they are just that foolish and incompetent themselves.
One of the decisions made by the ruling coalition pertains to healthcare. We all already know or feel firsthand that waiting times in healthcare are a significant problem, especially for those who need to see a specialist. Previously, if you had a referral marked as “urgent”, you would wait 14 days for a healthcare service. Because the waiting lists were unbearably long, the coalition elegantly solved this problem by extending the waiting time for the same “urgent” referral to 30 days. This way, there will be no more long waiting lists. How elegant a solution! It can be expected that if the queues get too long again, they will shorten them by setting the wait time to several months. But be aware, if you have a “regular” referral, you will be waiting for several months anyway, in some cases even years. One really does not know whether they are mocking us or are simply that incompetent and foolish. Let me also remind you of what the SD party promised when they toured Slovenia before the 2022 elections, showing red posters stating that every citizen would be guaranteed a specialist doctor within 30 days, regardless of urgency.
The head of the coalition stated after the catastrophic floods in August last year that Slovenian house builders could supply 100 houses per month and urged people to sign up as soon as possible. According to known data, a year and some months after the mentioned floods, the state has not provided even a single house for the flood victims. The first house for the flood victims was paid for and built by private individuals, and it was handed over to a family affected by last year’s floods in the Slovenj Gradec area. Believe it or not, the head of the coalition himself appeared at the handover of the house and addressed those present, instead of hiding in shame for the fact that the state, now under his leadership, had not provided a single house. Without shame, he showed up at the event and even spoke. Naturally, the question arises as to who invited him there and allowed him to speak – perhaps his protocol arranged it, as there is no exact information about this. Moreover, the attendees even applauded him. Why? Because the state, which he currently manages, has not provided a single house for the flood victims? Who here is crazy, who is making foolish decisions? It seems that in this case, it is not just the head of the coalition.
In October 2023, the coalition decided to temporarily reintroduce border checks at the borders with Hungary and Croatia. The official reason for this decision was the “increased threat of terrorism”. They used mostly those police officers who were monitoring the green border for the checks. That this measure was foolish or a sign of incompetence, bordering on idiocy, was clear even back then. On one hand, they depleted the personnel for monitoring the green border, across which illegal migrants are entering in hordes, and on the other hand, they reintroduced checks at border crossings. At the time, I wrote that this would particularly affect our citizens who cross the border crossings daily and that it was unlikely they would catch any potential terrorists, as terrorists do not cross state borders by sitting in personal cars, with a colourful scarf on their heads, holding a rifle or a bomb in their hands.
My claim at that time has now been confirmed directly by the ruling coalition. MP Anton Šturbej posed a parliamentary question on April 11th, 2024, under number 020-07/24-584/2, asking, among other things: “How many potential suspects of terrorist acts (planned in Slovenia or EU countries) were apprehended by the police at border crossings during that time?” The question referred to the period from last October to May 7th, 2024, when the MP received a response from the Minister of the Interior, Boštjan Poklukar, under number 001-92/2024/3 (11-10). And what was written in the response? This: “The Slovenian police did not apprehend any potential suspects of terrorist acts at border crossings during the specified time.” In other words, the coalition confirmed my thesis about the futility of border checks due to the increased threat of terrorism. So, yet another foolish decision by the coalition. To be continued.