By: Dr Metod Berlec
Slovenia remains a prisoner of its last Communist Party leader, Milan Kučan. As his second consecutive term as President of the Republic of Slovenia ended in 2002, I detailed his party career in a multi-part dossier for the magazine Demokracija. I described his staged “resignation from power”, his leap onto Demos’ “independence train”, and his apparent transformation into a modern “democratic politician”.
This political fox, leveraging the party-security network and his influence as the President of the Presidency and later the Republic, ensured that the transitional left regained control of all three branches of power after Demos’ fall in the spring of 1992. Through the “parallel mechanisms of the deep state”, they secured financial and economic strength, as well as media dominance, which they skilfully exploited throughout the transition period. However, I could never have imagined back then that, more than twenty years later, Kučan would still act as a behind-the-scenes godfather (and directly when needed), steering the executive branch in a country that, according to Article 1 of its constitution, is a “democratic republic”.
In recent weeks, we have once again witnessed Kučan dictating to the ruling authorities what they must do. At a roundtable organised by the Ljubljana Social Democrats (SD) titled “Who would really benefit from a grand coalition?” he made it clear that a “grand coalition” after the next elections was unsuitable, stating that the current conditions are not conducive to such cooperation. Simultaneously, he instructed the ruling leftist coalition to avoid discussing reforms and to speak of changes instead. He reiterated these points on national television last Sunday, while also emphasising the need to repeat the call for applications for the position of Director-General of Police. Both the SD and Levica parties immediately echoed his stance. Ultimately, even Robert Golob, the Prime Minister and leader of GS, had to give in. Senad Jušić, the current Police Director who had previously adamantly declared he would not resign and was supported by Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar, stepped down immediately.
While Slovenia remains a prisoner of its totalitarian past and individuals who should have long since been consigned to the dustbin of history, the increasingly globalised world is experiencing significant geostrategic shifts. These changes include not only a technological and digital revolution but also a “common sense revolution”, as proclaimed by the new U.S. President Donald Trump during his inauguration. He confidently predicted a “golden age for America”. Europe, along with Slovenia, needs a similar sense of confidence to respond effectively to the return of geopolitics to international relations. However, with the current disoriented leftist power structures in place, this remains an improbable challenge.