By: Dr Stane Granda
Slovenia’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council is undoubtedly a significant international political success, particularly considering the number of votes received. Russia should seriously reconsider its perception of itself as a major power, as well as its supporters, who are not lacking in Slovenia. The Slovenian government is celebrating, even on the international stage. However, the merits of the previous government are not acknowledged by anyone. Such habits are not part of political culture, especially for a government that demonises its predecessor. The situation would have been entirely different in case of a negative outcome.
The “expert” comments are exceptionally interesting. Without intending to diminish the success, some government supporters are going too far. They neglect the sad international position of the UN. No one takes it seriously. How could they, leaving the past aside, when its biggest humiliator is its permanent member, Russia, with China standing by its side, doing the same? We can console ourselves with the saying, “Imagine what it would be like if there were no UN”. There is an exceptionally interesting group demanding Slovenia to play an active role as a member of the Security Council in global politics. They propose that Slovenia, as part of the former Yugoslavia, revives the non-aligned movement. However, the number of votes in this mandate does not give them that power, yet some of “our” people cannot detach themselves from the “greatness of the beloved” Marshal Tito. Even today, they are incapable of understanding his serious judgment and fall for his baroque manipulations. They still fail to realise that he conducted his circus at the expense of his own citizens, primarily benefiting the successor state, which is an aggressor in Ukraine. Obligations towards those who have the main merits for Slovenia’s election must also be considered.
Many saw the potential for Slovenia’s unsuccessful candidacy in the international European support. The fact is that the domestic political support for the unfortunate Slavic country is highly hypocritical, if not deeply immoral. The charge of Slovenian totalitarianism is not consistent with the support for Ukraine. It is interesting that the majority of supporters of the National Liberation War (NOB) do not recognise the virtues of Ukrainian heroism, which they otherwise advocate. Apparently, they are bothered by its ideological foundation, true patriotism, and commitment to democracy, rather than totalitarianism. They are closer to its abuse. The values of Yugoslav communism are returning to Slovenia through the front door. Not as an advocate for a fairer social order but as a totalitarian authority, garnished with liberal capitalism. Specifically in the form of power held by tycoons and oligarchs. It is interesting how the far left, by neglecting the elderly and powerless, supports them. It is not a coincidence that the issue of euthanasia has emerged during this time and in such ideological alliances. Its advocates also have their views on post-war killings.
The current government, composed of those for whom an independent Slovenian state was not an “intimate option”, and anti-vaccination activists, is a terrible humiliation for us who consider it the highest achievement of Slovenians in history. Especially for those who understood their participation in the war as a readiness to sacrifice their lives for it. Ridicule of this and the incomprehensible insults we hear from official politics, particularly from the recently “liberated” RTVS, feels like treason. It is unparalleled baseness in Slovenian history. We too have our set of values, personal honour, and pride. Our humiliation is not classified as hate speech but rather as proof of freedom and the rule of Svoboda. The term independent fighter is an insult. We are treated as second-class citizens, as the culprits for our greatest mistake in history. In Slovenia today, you can be anything except a supporter of independence. Just look at the fate of the director of the Museum of Slovenian Independence. As a scientist and university professor, he was subjected to professional disqualification by completely incompetent individuals, lies, slander, and false accusations… He no longer has a job in Slovenia. He had to find it abroad. If we connect his case with the abolition of the Memorial Day for the Victims of Communism and the obstruction of the exhibition on the excavation of the victims in the Kočevski Rog, we can see that it is the implementation of the ideological views of the left, which the government fully embraces. Moreover, the recent speech on history by the completely incompetent Minister of Defence proves that they are even promoting it. Such persecution has not been seen in Slovenia even after World War II. The Minister of Culture and her associates fail to realise that such political conduct in a democracy primarily speaks about them, not their victims.
The march of antidemocratic forces in Slovenia has also been noticed abroad. Because they are leftist forces, they do not dramatize it like some in other countries. They mainly consider our domestic political situation as our own problem. The recent election of Slovenia as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council confirms this. There is no hope for external democratic “fraternal” assistance. Slovenians must complete democratisation on our own, just as we achieved independence.
New elections to the National Assembly, which may happen sooner than optimists assume, will not bring significant changes because democratic forces do not know how to effectively address the electorate. Their political handicap is the result of the consequences of post-war killings and the governments of fear and indoctrination in schools, which have remained largely untouched since independence. Just as the values of independence were hijacked, they must be regained. This can be achieved not through historical disputes but through a promise of a promising future. The elderly demonstrate one possible shortcut. The long-term solution lies in Slovenizing the education system, which means aligning it with the goals and purposes of Slovenian independence.