By: Domen Mezeg (Nova24tv.si)
In the aftermath of the disastrous floods that hit Slovenia at the beginning of August, former Prime Minister and President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Janez Janša, grabbed a shovel and went to help those affected by the natural disaster. Meanwhile, the former President of the Republic and the last President of the League of Communists of Slovenia, Milan Kučan, is using the tragedy for politicisation. People should really ask themselves who is it that really wants to do them good and who is it that is only deepening the national divide.
While the leader of the opposition, Janez Janša, took up the shovel and went to help people in the aftermath of the terrible floods, Milan Kučan is using the tragedy to deepen the political divide. Since he is clearly not willing to help in any concrete way, it would still be much better if he were to instead spend his time with his grandchildren at the seaside!
Whenever Kučan appears in public, we know that the left is doing pretty badly. Namely, at a time of the catastrophic storms, Prime Minister Robert Golob refused European funding for flood defences, thereby proving the government’s incompetence, because, according to his reasoning, the coalition would not be able to complete the projects within the deadlines – which is why they rejected the money.
And then, Golob hurried home from his holiday in Greece to exploit a human tragedy for self-promotion. This is what the left has mastered. Let us just remind you of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and the Social Democrats party (Socialni demokrati – SD) President, Tanja Fajon, and her posing on the site of a fire in the Karst region last year. Even the Mayor of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković, whom we have seen in the past with a workers’ helmet on his head, has disappeared from the public eye in light of the recent tragedy. And the activities of the left-wing activist Nika Kovač, who contributed to the catastrophic situation with the water referendum, are also questionable. Meanwhile, the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, did appear on the ground, but she did not exactly impress with her clean trousers and shirt… So now, in order to repair the public image of the ruling authorities, Kučan has embarked on a manoeuvre of diverting attention and sowing ideological discord, which is something he really knows how to do.
Kučan has not demonstrated his “solidarity” in practice
“The citizens have had a referendum of sorts in recent days, and they have said what kind of country they really want – they have shown that they want a country of solidarity, cooperation, integration and mutual help. So, a country that is very different from what people say we should be building,” Kučan said, among other things, but he has not demonstrated his solidarity in practice. His ranting about alleged political extremes does not benefit those who have been left homeless. He even said on a podcast of the media outlet Delo that Janša has been using all of the political tricks imaginable in his efforts to help those affected by the floods.
On the other hand, a team of prominent SDS party members and another former President of the Republic, Borut Pahor, have rolled up their sleeves and actually gone out to help people … Therefore, people should ask themselves who is really deepening the divide and who is ready to come to their aid in times of need.
Meanwhile, the former boss of the Communist Party of Slovenia has also reiterated the importance of the existence of a “noble conservative party” in the political arena. He was probably thinking of Ljudmila Novak and the New Slovenia party (Nova Slovenija – NSi), which have opportunistically forgotten their own voters this term and have been dancing to the Golob/Kučan’s tune all along. Kučan also touched on the political activity of Anže Logar and actually attributed one of the characteristic traits that he is most known for to the young politician – Kučan called Logar insincere. He then also expressed his disappointment about the incompetent ruling authorities, saying that they are performing their duties poorly and are clearly not up to the task.
Is it political extremism to help people in need?!
The key point, however, is that it is in the case of the floods and related events that we can see who is really on the side of the people and who is just a political meddler. Kučan was frightened because people have started to see Janša for who he really is – they have realised that he is a man who comes to the aid of the nation in difficult moments, just as he did in 1991, when his fate was at stake, while Kučan resorted to high treason when he allowed the Totalitarian Defence of the Republic of Slovenia to be disarmed while we were fighting for the independence of our country. The deep state headquarters have apparently been activated once again – out of fear, because Janša was actually among the people, helping them, and the people saw his sacrifice.