By: dr. Matevž Tomšič
The mainstream media continue to flood us with “news” about the progress of the process of changing the third Janša government. It is a process officially called constructive no confidence vote. This term itself, which is otherwise terminus technicus, is very misleading in this context, as there is actually nothing constructive in the actions of the current left wing opposition.
We can say that there has never been such a destructive opposition in the entire history of the independent Slovenia. It is true that in the past even the current largest government party, when it was still in the opposition, was often not exactly an example of constructiveness. However, the actions of the parties that were in power until the beginning of the last year mean a whole new dimension. They consistently attack almost every government proposal. This is even true for the measures aimed at curbing the epidemic of the new coronavirus. In this respect, Slovenia is actually unique in the European Union. Thus, due to the wrathful disagreement of the opposition, together with a large part of civil society and even some institutions (the Information Commissioner was especially engaged), our country was among the last in Europe to receive an application for detecting virus exposure. Let’s remember: the champions of these parties practically bragged about not using it. Or the SD party campaign for a “school without masks”, even though it turned out that schools were one of the main sources of the spread of infections. Those who violated government decrees and did not respect the measures were declared heroes, and those among them who were punished for doing so were declared victims of government repression. And then we wonder that the price of the second wave of the epidemic, measured in human lives, is so very high!
And this opposition is now announcing that “this time it will really” file a no confidence vote. Although it still does not have enough votes to replace the government. In doing so, it is unusual that even before their current pretender for the position of Prime Minister has tested his luck in the parliament, they are already mentioning new potential candidates for Prime Minister position. As if they are just some kind of “consumable goods” that can be replaced and discarded when the first opportunity to do so presents itself.
The dominant media constantly create an image as if all these occurrences are a normal parliamentary struggle. As if the presidents of the KUL coalition parties were real political “players”. Thus, every day they pass us the statements of Karl Erjavec, Tanja Fajon, Marjan Šarec, Alenka Bratušek, and Luka Mesec. And we continuously hear the same clichés coming from their mouths about how the world will practically collapse if Janša stays in power. Namely, these are people who have not yet mastered one original thought, one original idea. Therefore, they can only play the role of political puppets directed by others.
And this is exactly what these media, which have been actively involved in the overthrow of Janša’s government from the very beginning, are trying to hide from us. Instead of dealing with puppets, they should have turned to the actual directors in the background, that is, to people like Gregor Golobič. They are the ones whose role should be exposed. Namely, behind the scenes, they are the ones making decisions on all key moves of the transitional left wing. They are recruiting potential candidates. These “KUL people” are merely contractors who must comply with their instructions.
The government is a huge thorn in its side, that is of this political backstage, as it fears that the government will be able to disrupt the financial flows that powers its networks and maintain its clientele. And the same backstage controls most of the media. Thus, it is no coincidence that they would do anything to hide the real reasons for the overthrow of the current government.
Matevž Tomšič is a sociologist, university lecturer and publicist. Since 2008 he has been teaching and researching at the Faculty of Applied Social Studies in Nova Gorica. In addition, he is also engaged at the Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto and at the Faculty of Media in Ljubljana. He is also a collaborator of the Study Center for National Reconciliation and president of the Association of Journalists and Publicists.