By Domen Mezeg / Nova24tv
“I am going to bed. I hope to read in the morning that Kyiv is now Russian and that there will finally be no more victims,” Ciril Brajer wrote recently, who was a candidate in the 2018 local elections. He ran on the list of the Social Democrats party (Socialni demokrati – SD) in the Log-Dragomer unit. This information is all the more unusual since the SD party has declaratively distanced itself from Putin’s expansionist policies; however, some of its members are clearly advocates of aggression. The European Socialists in Brussels will certainly not be too excited about this information.
“Their voters must be very tolerant…” wrote journalist Vinko Vasle, referring to the fact that the controversial Russophile, Ciril Brajer, ran on the Social Democrats’ list in the 2018 local elections. Vasle: “He was a journalist of the Delavska enotnost newspaper (Workers’ Unity). He was also a loyal member of the Communsit Party. Fellow journalists called him “Čiro Šmarnica,” because he was always ‘on the line…’ (“Šmarnica” is an alcoholic drink, typically found in the Styrian region of Slovenia) However, I am not surprised that the SD party put him on their list, as the Social Democrats have always identified with pro-Putinism and Vladimir Putin‘s aggression against Ukraine.” If this was not in line with their content, they would definitely not have put such a candidate on their list.
In Slovenia, Russophilia is in the domain of members of the left-wing political option. Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković even refused to return the medal that was given to him by Putin. In doing so, he made it clear who he is and “whose” he is. However, former Minister Anja Kopač Mrak from the SD party positively surprised everyone when she did what any normal person should do – namely, she returned her medal. However, journalist Vasle believes that the Left party (Levica) and the Social Democrats are mostly “pro-Putin.” They are almost definitely cheering for the Russians, despite the fact that the President of the party, Tanja Fajon, is trying to give a different impression.
The Social Democrats are members of the European socialists’ group, which is intensely defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and opposing Putin’s aggression. They have also made this clear on their website, with the message “We stand with Ukraine.” However, they will certainly find it difficult to accept that their branch from Slovenia, led by the influential MEP Tanja Fajon, has people who are clearly enthusiastic about the Russian occupation of Kyiv in its ranks. Brussels was already quite shocked after the concert of the entire left-wing establishment, which happened in Stožice in 2013, where visitors sand “Bandiero Rosso” and “Europe is a necktie gang.” This time, the lives and security of the whole of Europe are at stake, so this kind of left-wing anti-European extremism is unlikely to be overlooked. The European socialist group’s response to this situation will definitely be interesting, and we will publish it as soon as we receive it. And if you want to find out more about Ciril Brajer’s ardent support for Vladimir Putin‘s policies, just take a look at his social media, where he often posts about how disgraceful the sanctions of the West against Russia really are and about how we should all start to cheer for Russia instead of Ukraine.