By: Dr Andreja Valič Zver
In these days, we commemorate the 21st anniversary of the death of the father of the Slovenian state, Dr Jože Pučnik. A democrat, top intellectual, political prisoner, dissident, and statesman, he extensively contemplated and analysed the phenomenon of democracy in his professional and scientific works. For instance, in 1990, he wrote that “democracy prevents the appropriation of the state and that the worst form of abuse of political power is the appropriation of the state”. According to Pučnik, the “state apparatus of a modern state carries so much accumulated power within itself that it directly provokes permanent appropriation”. He emphasised that exactly this happened in all totalitarian states. Therefore, democracy, through its recurring electoral procedures, should prevent “any permanent appropriation of the state”.
However, while reading and studying Pučnik’s brilliant analyses, our everyday events and the overview of media and social networks fill us with considerable pessimism regarding the current state of Slovenian democracy. As known, Pučnik was well aware that the early lessons of democracy do not guarantee the flourishing of freedom, and that democracy in Slovenia is fragile primarily due to the lack of a democratic tradition. With the rise of the Slovenian political spring and the establishment of independent Slovenia, old political patterns were transferred to the new democratic environment, and the “uncles” retained the levers of power. But it seems that what affected him the most was the lack of courage and critical thinking among ordinary citizens. Someone who was a hero in the leaden fifties probably found it challenging to see uncritical, passive citizens who do not know what to do with their freedom. Pučnik did not understand freedom as Golob does, saying, you are free to do what you want, provided you have enough power.
Golob increasingly personifies the “ruler” in the Machiavellian sense of the word. A person who seizes the state, does whatever he wants, and no one can do anything about it. In this sense, he follows in the footsteps of his great role model and comrade, the mayor of Ljubljana. Political hygiene is of no concern to him, and with his inflated style of governance, he is starting to resemble the French kings (and queens) of the time before the French Revolution. Extravagance outwardly and decay inwardly ended in a bloody revolutionary rage, which – as is usual in revolutions – mainly claimed many innocent lives and opened the door for Napoleon’s conquering campaigns. I do not want to suggest historical parallels, although the current Slovenian “ruler” could review one of them and reflect on the fact that when you cross the boundaries of acceptable governance and enter a swamp, you may not escape it. Do we need to list all the failures of the Slovenian “ruler”, who sees everything collapsing that he promised with a smile before the elections? Do we need to repeat the desperate calls from the economy, entrepreneurship, the farming community, healthcare, and all other areas that are in disarray? Do we need to remind ourselves of the unsecured Slovenian borders, the increase in illegal migrations and the associated violence? Private property is turning into a mortal sin, and media freedom has shifted into the category of “hate speech”. Slovenia, with one of the highest forest coverages in Europe, is transforming into a land of solar panels that, according to Golob’s “experts”, should once and for all solve the problem of electricity supply. Amen. “And then the cow died, just when I got her used to wooden feeders”, sighed a foolish farmer after a failed experiment.
In the midst of the increasingly mad “Golobing” and deepening despair among the people, let me conclude this reflection with Pučnik and his political stance as a statesman. It was worth asking him what is right and what is not. He answered honestly, even if differently than the questioner might have expected. Although the truth is sometimes painful, he always spoke it as he believed it to be true and right. Openly, sincerely! That was Pučnik! Therefore, let me remind you of his wish that Slovenians should straighten their winding spines. On the tenth anniversary of the Slovenian state, he wrote: “My feelings are unfriendly … the situation in our country is such that I could cry. If it would help. So, with a bitter heart, I offer a rather feeble piece of advice: Yes, let’s cry over our own pettiness and our willow-like spines, and then finally rise on our hind legs and develop in ourselves at least a fraction of the courage, consistency, and truthfulness that our sentimentally false national mythology extols! In this way, we will be able to change and establish many things in this blessed homestead, at which point we will truly be proud of our sovereign state, which we are not worthy of today.”