By: Dr Andreja Valič Zver
In European political discourse, the word corruption is very popular. It refers to a centuries‑old political practice in which those who hold political power use it to appropriate communal property and everything else. Corruption is deeply rooted especially in authoritarian, totalitarian, and transitional states, among which is also our Slovenia. In Brussels, which is not immune to corrupt dealings either, they are aware of this. But the question naturally arises whether the same standards are applied, especially since corruption has become a highly sophisticated matter. In Slovenia, corruption is particularly associated with the left‑wing political bloc, which inherited the instruments that allowed corrupt practices to run smoothly. Jože Pučnik and Janez Janša were among the first to recognise this. The question arises of what would have happened to Slovenia’s transition if, over the past decades, there had not been this broad front on the Slovenian political landscape, one that grew increasingly strong and was not limited only to Janša’s party.
This is why, on the occasion of the mass gathering in front of the Slovenian parliament on 10 April 2026, it is worth looking back all the way to the first half of the 1990s. Many of the key actors have already passed away, yet the memory of that magnificent protest movement still lives on.
After Janša took over the party in 1993, one of his first major rallies was in Celje. He announced the party’s central mission: an unrelenting fight against corruption, which at the time still operated through fairly trivial channels, but very effectively, since there was still plenty of so‑called socially owned property “available,” and little to no state oversight. It was precisely the warnings about these deviations, especially about the corruption of the udbomafia, as we then called the deep state, and about the non‑transparent repayment of Yugoslav debts to foreign commercial banks, that likely contributed to Janša being placed on the list for political elimination.
What followed was the Depala vas affair, a notorious episode that ultimately proved to be unlawful. The public already knew this in the spring of 1994, which is why the protest rally against the dismissal of the defence minister was as powerful as few before it and none since.
But the political outcome was different from what had been expected: genuine democrats from other parties began to rally around Janša. And the fight against the corrupt left‑wing government, which was led from behind the scenes by Milan Kučan, became the strongest magnet for the democratic pole of Slovenian politics, which in popular jargon was simply called the right.
It was only a matter of time before a mass anti‑corruption movement would emerge. And it happened on 10 April 1994 (on the same date as the most recent rally!), when, 32 years ago, the spring parties organised an anti‑corruption gathering under the slogan “For a democratic Slovenia – without corruption!” At the event, Janša, M. Podobnik, Gošnik, Peterle, and several others spoke. Peterle faced the greatest difficulties, as the rally turned against Drnovšek’s government, of which he was a member. The split on the spring side grew even deeper from then on. At this historic mass gathering in Ljubljana, which was not the only one, the following demands were made:
- a review of the procedures that had led to Slovenia’s public debt,
- determination of individual responsibility in the procedures that had led to Slovenia’s public debt,
- the adoption of an anti‑corruption law under an expedited procedure,
- the adoption of a law against money laundering under an expedited procedure,
- full transparency of public finances,
- determination of the responsibility of ministers and other holders of responsible functions for the negligent management of state property,
- stricter penalties for criminal offences involving the unlawful transfer of capital abroad.
The demands of that time were articulated very clearly, and – after the disgraceful conduct of the left‑wing clique – remain relevant even today. It is important to know – especially for young people – how thoroughly the opposition responded to corruption already 32 years ago. It is only right that any new movement now emerging draws inspiration from the magnificent 1990s.