After the opposition, being led by the SD party, which is led by MEP Tanja Fajon, announced support for the interpellation of the Interior Minister Aleš Hojs because of a decision to allow a concert by Marko Perković Thompson, Hojs said in a press release that it was clear that the announced interpellation represents a kind of political game, with which the opposition wants to ideologically sully him. He also said that he does not know about every decision that the administrative units make. So, he also did not know about the decision about Thompson’s concert, which is supposedly not even going to happen at all. He also reminded everyone that he had previously already defined Ustashism as a corrupt ideology on several occasions.
Minister of the Interior, Aleš Hojs, told the press that he would read the interpellation when he saw it, as so far, he has only been informed about it by the media. He also said that he is surprised that everyone is talking about the decision of the ministry, which, according to him, no one has even read. He pointed out that the organizer of the concert has not even gotten it yet. “The moment he gets it, I will also make it public,” he announced. He rejected the accusation that he is spreading hatred or that he is Ustashism-oriented. “I believe this is below the expected level of communication in this country. I will not sink to that level,” he said.
This is about sullying him personally
In a statement, the Minister explained that he himself is not aware of every decision issued by the unit’s administration. “I am not trying to avoid the objective responsibility,” he emphasized. Therefore, on Friday, when he found out about the decision, he called the authorized person who issued it to his office. They discussed the matter, and she explained to him what the basis for the decision was, which, however, is based on the ruling of the Administrative Court and the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights. The intention of the political game of the opposition, the Minister believes, is to ideologically sully him as a personality. As Hojs pointed out, he has repeatedly made it clear that Ustashism, fascism, Nazism, and Communism are all corrupt ideologies.
According to the Minister of the Interior, the allegations of the opposition that the concert will take place, are unfounded. “And what is more, I have heard unofficial information that Thompson doesn’t even want to have this concert,” he said. He also pointed out that he knows that Thompson’s representatives want to obtain compensation from the state because the 2017 concert was not possible. According to Hojs, this is also unacceptable.
There were even calls for him to disregard the rulings of the court?!
The Minister also commented on the call of the management boards of the Slovene Writers’ Association and the Slovene PEN Centre, to repeal the decision of the administrative unit. “So they are asking us not to follow the court’s rulings. The court gave us the instruction,” Hojs repeated. “Of course, I can personally believe that such concerts are not appropriate. But at the same time, I find it difficult to defend a position where, based on ideology, anyone will be able to interpret the legal order however they like,” he added.
According to the Minister, the accusations in the interpellation will be exclusively related to the events surrounding the aforementioned concert. “It seems that this interpellation is based on an ideological theme, and not on facts,” he said. If the proponents add other objections to this topic, he will respond to them accordingly, he announced. The chairman of the SD, Tanja Fajon, ordered the team to prepare everything for the interpellation. The leader of the SD parliamentary group, Matjaž Han, explained that the main reason was the decision of the Ministry of the Interior, which allowed for Thompson’s concert in Maribor to happen. Support for the interpellation has also been announced by the LMŠ, Levica, and SAB parties, should the interpellation be well-justified. The SNS party, however, does not support the interpellation.
The Minister is being accused of not interfering in the procedures of the independent bodies?!
Political analyst Matevž Tomšič, Ph. D., commented on the matter for Nova24TV. He said that the main argument for lifting the ban on the concert of the Croatian singer Thompson is, to put it mildly, unusual. “The left-wing opposition likes to accuse this government of interfering in various areas and interfering in the decisions of individual independent bodies. Here, however, the SD party is accusing Minister Hojs of not interfering in the administrative procedures at the Ministry of the Interior. As Minister Hojs said, he had nothing to do with the decision to allow the concert.”
In fact, according to Tomšič, this was decided by the relevant bodies at the ministry. “Obviously, the left-wing part of the opposition would expect political interference in administrative procedures from the Minister. In short, the matter is very misplaced. After all, it was the Administrative Court that annulled the decision of the Maribor administrative unit to ban the concert. This is not something the Minister would just make up. The other allegations are considered to be similarly misplaced.” He pointed out the absurdity of one of the allegations, stating that certain Friday protesters had been fined for protesting. “Look, there are offenses and penalties for certain offenses. To expect that someone would not be punished for something, which is considered an offense… Apparently, some still consider themselves to be first-class citizens.”
Hana Murn