By: dr. Matevž Tomšič
Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, at the recent Bled Strategic Forum, once again warned about the danger of populism. She argued that populism is the main threat to global solidarity, as it is associated with distorting facts and spreading disinformation for specific political gains. It is believed to undermine international organisations and, as a result, disrupt order in the modern globalised world.
What exactly populism is and who specifically are the populists, Fajon did not explicitly mention. However, it was still clear that she was referring to opponents of her, that is, the left or “progressive” political option. For instance, those who do not believe in “climate change” and do not support efforts against it. In this regard, they spread “fake news”. But this is about specific views and interpretations of climate change; the ones popular on the left; the ones that predominantly attribute climate change and its negative effects to human activities. However, there is by no means a “scientific consensus” on this issue, as “progressive forces” try to convince us. This is part of their political agenda, aiming to introduce additional restrictions, regulations, and control over citizens and businesses. And this is something that leftists always like to do, do they not?
But if Fajon and her associates want to combat the distortion of facts and the spread of fake news, they undoubtedly need to start with themselves. They must acknowledge and accept the truth about the oppressive nature of the former communist regime. They need to realise that its violence and abuses were not anomalies but part of a systemic logic. They should stop believing in stories of the benevolence of communist revolutionaries, with which they once fed the people – when most of official history about the period during and after World War II fell into the category of fake news, rather than worshiping the bearers of the communist dictatorship and even declaring themselves proud successors of the Communist Party (as done by a former member of the party led by Fajon).
Fajon can fight against populism within her own government. After all, her government was formed on highly populist grounds. The parties comprising the ruling coalition built their entire pre-election campaign last year on anti-Janša sentiments, which means spreading fears and antipathies towards the personality of the then Prime Minister, with facts, arguments, and programmatic directions playing virtually no role. They promised that everything would get better when they came to power. So far, these promises have largely fallen apart.
However, scaring against so-called populists is not limited to Slovenian ruling politics. Established politicians across Europe engage in it, especially those on the left. Opposition to their policies, such as open-border migration policies, is often labelled as populist, even when it is entirely justified. Recall how those who warned about the problematic aspects of mass immigration from the third world during the 2015 migrant crisis were discredited. They were accused of baselessly spreading fears, being labelled as populists or worse. However, these warnings were soon proven to be entirely justified. The security situation in Europe deteriorated significantly, with a series of terrorist attacks and an increase in various forms of violence.
Indeed, populism (of various political colours) is on the rise in many parts of Europe. However, traditional political elites are largely “responsible” for its growth. They have lost a significant portion of public trust due to their unresponsiveness to people’s needs and their inefficiency in addressing key societal issues. Populist parties and movements have simply taken advantage of this opportunity. Therefore, established politicians should view this as a warning and as an incentive to change their way of operating, rather than as a means to shift responsibility onto others.