By: Peter Jančič (Spletni časopis)
The fear of many parents that their children will be shot at school was the event of the week. It started with a threat on the 24.ur.com portal by a user named “Slava_Rusiji”, who on March 2nd announced a terrorist attack on our schools under an article about a shooting in Finland. The government informed schools that it was a serious terrorist threat, but the police and other authorities did not lift a finger to investigate the terrorist threat, to find out who was making the threat and how serious it was. In the media, we then heard discussions about how the problem was hate speech, although it had nothing to do with hate speech. People mostly did not learn about the danger allegedly threatening children from the media. Schools informed them. I was also informed by them.
Meanwhile, an unusual confrontation between Milan Kučan and Robert Golob continued in state politics. The fact that Matjaž Han visited Aleksander Čeferin and that Čeferin supported him, which immediately made the front page of Delo, was probably not a coincidence. There are no coincidences in politics. With this, Han offered himself as part of his network, which also includes Tomaž Vesel, whom Golob recently declared as a candidate for European Commissioner. Allegedly for the merits he had in the past when he was the head of the Court of Audit. Golob did not even inform his coalition partners before that he had already chosen a commissioner for them as well. Like Čeferin, Vesel also worked in world football in the past. They rose together. Except that Vesel worked only part-time, in the morning he was the president of the Court of Audit. He was a double agent, which the part of Robert Golob’s government attacked with all its might. Vesel attracted attention when he took away the responsibility for preparing the audit report on the purchase of respirators (and masks) from deputy Jorg Kristijan Petrovič and transferred the preparation of the report, which he hurriedly wanted to finish, to deputy Mojca Planinšek. He claimed that this was the only way to ensure effective work. Timely completion of work. His critics, however, claimed that he tried to publish the report before the constructive vote of no confidence triggered by the coalition Kul and failed with it. It was all part of preparations for the elections, but Vesel then did not go as the new face. Čeferin appointed Golob as the new face, whom Kučan also supported and publicly stated before the elections that there was nothing wrong if Golob, as the director of a state-owned company, received a salary and rewards far beyond legal limits. Kučan’s can.
But Kučan later withdrew his support. What is Golob’s power when this uncle is not behind him, we could observe when Kučan’s Nataša Pirc Musar was elected president. Milan Brglez, who was a candidate in SD and Svoboda when Mart Kos was eliminated there, failed miserably. Neither Kos nor Čeferin helped him. In the case of the leadership struggle within the SD, the result was at least close. But even this time Brglez did not win.
When Han, suggested by Čeferin, suddenly faced serious opponents, it was demonstrated by the rebellious philosopher Boris Vezjak, who revealed to us that Han is a candidate of capital, practically a neoliberal, who could align himself with Janez Janša for governance. The worst sins, in short. Čeferin was not mentioned. Neither was Kučan.
Han is indeed also the owner of a small company, and because of that, unlike most loud left “protesters”, he knows what entrepreneurship is. It was quite amusing to hear that one of the most influential politicians of the SD in recent decades is a neoliberal or close to Janša, and it proved that the philosopher Vezjak can argue anything.
However, it was not funny at all how frightened parents across the country were when all this was happening behind the scenes, when they were informed by schools about security measures to prevent their children from being shot, which could have happened on Wednesday. This fear was not caused by the media, which were extremely cautious in their reporting. People were not even informed. On the POP TV portal, where a user named “Slava_Rusiji” predicted a terrorist attack on March 2nd, comments under the article about the shooting in Finland were immediately disabled. Hidden. But this does not eliminate the danger. Jure Tepina, the editor of the 24ur.com portal, informed the authorities about this threat from POP TV and secured all the data so that the police and others could conduct checks. But no one did anything, he summarised the consequences.
The prosecutor’s office, which could request the information, even announced that the police had not proposed anything of the sort. There was panic across the country that children would be shot by terrorists in schools.
If we compare it with the terrorist attacks in Moscow, about which Russia was warned by the USA and also informed that it was being prepared by the extreme Muslim movement ISIS and that the attack could take place on a shopping centre and a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, where it also happened, our government reacted similarly. They did not do anything particularly smart, and they pointed the finger of blame at known enemies. In Russia to Ukraine, here to too much freedom of anonymous comments and hate speech. Although terrorism is a completely different dimension.
The response of my partner at home, who suggested to our son not to go to school in Ljubljana for safety reasons, shocked me quite a bit, especially since I knew some background. It also shocked the child. He insisted that it was pointless and that the possibility of an attack on his school in Ljubljana was entirely insignificant, and that he would go to school. However, many children were absent. In that school and others. And it is right that parents care for their children.
Fortunately, nothing happened this time. The real problem would have been if it did, and we would all have to ask why the police and the prosecution believed that they would not be helped by 24ur.com. When it comes to terrorism and the safety of children, it is logical that they should. After all, these are also children of people for whom these media outlets work. And journalists and editors also have children. Moreover, this is a media outlet known for its good connections with the authorities and even the top of the police, which we obtained after multiple purges by Robert Golob.
It is something else if the government was too intrusive in finding out where the media got information about its work or if it sought to retaliate against critics. You know, hate speech, purges, and depoliticisation. This was not the case this time.
Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar was lucky. Because there was no attack, he could order an internal review of why the police did not make an effort with the prosecution. If there had been an attack, the least of his problems would have been having to step down from his position.