By: Dr Metod Berlec
The speech delivered by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly attracted attention not only in Slovenia but also internationally, as it demonstrated that the Slovenian government is led by a politician who thinks broadly and approaches issues from a geostrategic perspective. Janša’s address to the UN was a call for greater consistency within the international community. He identified the use of different standards in responding to global crises as one of the key problems. He stressed that the suffering of both Palestinian and Israeli civilians requires serious and sustained attention and that every civilian life matters. At the same time, he drew attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, mass violence in Nigeria, human rights violations in Iran, and rising antisemitism. “If every civilian life matters, why does our response vary so greatly from one crisis to another? This does not mean that one crisis deserves less attention, but rather that we must be more consistent in addressing all of them,” he said. According to Janša, the international community’s response should be determined primarily by the scale, duration, and severity of suffering, rather than by geography, political alliances, media exposure, or political influence.
He also devoted an important part of his speech to the war in Ukraine. He reiterated the position that Russia’s aggression constitutes a grave violation of the UN Charter and argued that the lack of a decisive response to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 was one of the factors that paved the way for the full-scale invasion of 2022. In his view, lasting peace can be built only on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, combined with credible security guarantees. Janša did not limit himself to criticism. He also proposed two concrete reforms of the United Nations. The first would create an independent mechanism comparing the severity of global crises with the actual response of the international community and highlighting possible cases of selectivity. The second concerns greater protection of UN institutions from political instrumentalization, with transparent procedures and equal standards applying to all member states. His central message was clear: if the UN wants to restore trust, it must apply its own principles consistently and impartially. In his view, the solution is not to weaken multilateralism but to reform it and protect it from political abuse. At a time of growing geopolitical tensions, this was presented as a call to return to the fundamental values on which the organisation was built after the Second World War.”
Last week, however, the Slovenian media landscape was dominated by a very different story. Public attention focused on claims made by Dušan Smodej, the central figure in the Fotopub affair, who alleged that former minister and co-coordinator of the Levica party, Luka Mesec, had used cocaine together with him at one of his notorious parties. Mesec denied the allegations, though the author describes his denial as unconvincing. The matter is concerning because it could suggest that part of Slovenia’s left-wing transitional political sphere is dependent on networks linked to the narcotics trade, which are said to contribute to Ljubljana’s reputation as one of Europe’s cocaine capitals. For how long? Perhaps until law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and institutions such as the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office begin operating independently, professionally, and effectively.
