By: Dr Stane Granda
The moral-political and increasingly economic-social collapse of Slovenia, as reflected in foreign analyses and our increasingly empty wallets, confirms the country is in a serious existential crisis. The question arises: should we continue patching up the existing system, or carry out a thorough reconstruction, a transformation so profound that it essentially means starting anew? Not from scratch, because independence is a fact, but to tear things down to the foundation and build up anew, to complete what was missed back then and modernise the country in a way that aligns with the original ideas and the needs of the present.
Slovenian independence has more than proven itself, especially in foreign policy, though less so in domestic affairs. We did not become Switzerland, there is only one Switzerland, but we also are not eating grass, as our opponents once predicted. What we have now is a caricature of democracy: the rule of law, civic awareness, and national pride remain virtually unknown concepts. Not everything can be blamed on the “new faces” in politics, the decline began as early as the Drnovšek era, but under the most recent government, we have hit rock bottom. And rock bottom is never so low that it could not go lower still.
The claim that modern Slovenia is a hostage to its totalitarian past because of the “indigenous” communist revolution is not just a lie, it is also an admission of powerlessness and ignorance. The communist revolution was Yugoslav, not Slovenian, and we are now an independent Slovenia. Because of the threat of civil war at the time of independence, many former regime figures kept key positions, and in the thirty years since, they have only strengthened their grip. Most of all, they have ideologically occupied the people through endless debates about the nature and meaning of World War II in Slovenia. But this war was not fought in a Slovenian context, the decisive framework was Yugoslav. The deepening of Slovenia’s internal divide, which is the main political tool of the former elites, must be left to historians. As Jože Pirjevec himself admitted in a debate with Jože Možina in Trieste: that battle is lost. What the Slovenian public needs now is a debate about our common future, not an ideological one, but a discussion on the quality and content of life. We must solve the urgent issues of pensions and elderly care. And we must not forget about demographics, otherwise, everything else will be in vain!
Although since 1940 Slovenes have no longer been a predominantly agrarian people, it is only post-independence Slovenia that has completely marginalised the importance of the rural population. Their last major influence was through Ivan Oman during the independence movement. In searching for a new backbone of the nation, we must now rely on the class of small and mid-sized entrepreneurs, creators of new value who come from the Slovenian environment and who possess a Slovenian civic consciousness. There is enough willpower, knowledge, and capital in Slovenian society. We must take advantage of our small size, be internationally open and inclusive. We will never be an economic superpower, but adaptability must go hand-in-hand with intellectual sharpness, diligence, and resilience, traits that always characterised our ancestors. Our ideological opponents, personified by a man whose personal preference was never for a Slovenian state, have no new economic ideas. Their business world consists of theft, appropriation, and parasitism, not the creation of value. It is not the past, but our future that must push them onto the ash heap of history.
Less than a year remains until the next parliamentary election. It is high time to give this period content – content that will wash away Kučanism. We must launch an economic and social revival, build a dignified life, and become an equal partner in the world we have always belonged to, whenever we were not trapped in Yugoslavia. The ideological quarrel about the mid-20th century, whose facts are well-established, cannot serve as the foundation of a voter coalition.
The generation of Slovenians that achieved independence is becoming the past. The Cathedral of Freedom cannot replace the Nova revija (magazine). If we do not fill our future with new substance and new people from our own land, the vacuum will be filled by Belgrade capital, which is actively working toward that goal. Zoran Janković is making an exceptional effort, and from Ljubljana’s City Hall, he is already promoting the Serbian-Balkan Expo! In whose interest? It seems they already see us as their Ottoman district (pašaluk).
The next elections must focus on building a new Slovenia. Not on fixing but correcting the fundamental mistakes of the post-independence decades. The Second Republic is coming, whether we like it or not, whether we call it that or not. As long as we are alive and able, it is our duty to help shape it. Ultimately, this is also our obligation to our children and to the legacy of independence.
