By Vida Kocjan
Slovenia was successful in the fight against the new coronavirus, wherein rapid and effective measures of the Government led by Janez Janša were key. The government has so far adopted eight legislative aid packages to mitigate the effects of the epidemic, and the measures have been targeted at those people and businesses that needed the most help. So far, €3.5 billion has been distributed to vulnerable groups and the economy from a package worth €7 billion, the rest is still ongoing.
With the support mechanisms at the labour market, the government also prevented enormous unemployment, and as many as 99 percent of jobs were maintained, which is an incredible success. The number of unemployed is declining very fast, we will soon be at pre-epidemic levels.
It is also encouraging that the government has not bypassed any population group. Material uncertainty did not increase. This is indicated by the fact that household incomes increased during this crisis, they were higher by one percent. The nutritional deposits of the population are also higher.
It is also very important that Slovenia maintained a stable financial system, the liquidity of the banking system remains good. Even the fact that the fall in economic growth last year was one-fifth lower than forecast is worth repeating over and over again.
All of this is a great roadmap for the time to come when the country’s development will need to be accelerated with many investments. We also benefit from the fact that foreign credit rating agencies rank Slovenia among the most reliable countries for investments.
With all this, Slovenia is consolidating its position in the group of more advanced euro area countries.
It is also important that the state budget for 2021 provides almost 2 billion euros for investments, which is almost twice as much as the year before. A plan for recovery and resilience after the pandemic, worth 5.6 billion euros, is also pending final approval. The development of the economy is also affected by bureaucratisation, and the situation is also moving in this area.
Therefore, there are more than enough reasons for optimism in the second year of the ruling coalition under Janša’s leadership. This really is a success.
Vida Kocjan is a journalist for Demokracija.