By: Dr Metod Berlec
Sunday’s referendum on the law regarding a pension bonus for exceptional achievements in the field of art serves as a cold shower for the arrogant ruling nomenclature.
With 99.99% of the ballots counted and a 25.93% voter turnout, only 7.42% of those who participated in the referendum voted in favour of the law’s implementation, while a staggering 92.58% voted against it. That means just 32,334 voters supported the controversial law, while as many as 403,480 voters opposed it – a clear rejection of the so-called privileged pensions. This far exceeded the quorum required for the law to be overturned.
It is hard to disagree with SDS president Janez Janša, who said on Sunday evening that the outcome reflects the reason and rationality of “that part of the Slovenian electorate which realises that the country is moving in the wrong direction under the current coalition’s mandate.” According to him, the ruling coalition suffered a double slap in the face: first, because the “shameful law, which aimed to grant unjustified privileges to a select few through decisions made by a political body,” was rejected; and second, because members of the executive branch called for a boycott of the referendum. In Janša’s view, the government was counting on the high quorum for the referendum to be difficult to reach – but it was not only met, it was vastly exceeded, as “more than 400,000 Slovenian voters chose reason.” He added, “any government receiving such a double slap would resign on its own. I doubt, however, that this one will reconsider,” realistically concluding that it is now up to the Slovenian electorate to respond to such (non)reactions in the next elections, which will come in less than a year. Until then, he said, SDS will continue to ramp up pressure to “shift governance of the country toward the future, not the past.”
The referendum result showcases the power of democracy, or more precisely parliamentary democracy – a system of governance in which authority stems from the people. Citizens exercise this power directly (via referendums) or through political representatives elected for a fixed term. In theory, citizens (along with the media) ensure that those in power govern in line with public expectations. But that is not the case with the current arrogant and self-serving ruling coalition. For the past three years, they have acted as if their election victory gave them a lifetime mandate, behaving as though they answer to no one but the sky. But that is not how democracy works. On Sunday, they received a clear slap from the people. Will it sober them up? Unlikely. They will probably continue recklessly driving us toward ruin.