By: Spletni časopis
Legal proceedings against the President of the National Assembly, Zoran Stevanović, were announced on behalf of Svoboda by the outgoing Prime Minister Robert Golob, who, after the elections, became known for attacking other parties, including Stevanović’s, calling them frauds, traitors, and undemocratic. He even described the nomination of Franci Matoz for Minister of the Interior as an example of corruption, simply because Matoz has represented Janez Janša in court cases over the past decade.
Golob already had a reputation as a political extremist during his time as prime minister. He carried out political purges (early dismissals) of dissenting voices even in the media, and he publicly defended the idea that it was necessary to “clean out the Janšists.” For example, in his well‑known interview with Tanja Starič on Odmevi.
Golob is now announcing legal action because Stevanović said that Svoboda’s female MPs behave in a “street‑like” manner in parliament, taking the floor without permission and insulting representatives of other parties in a way similar to Golob himself, or even more harshly. After the elections, Svoboda had already initiated legal proceedings against Stevanović, and they even asked the Constitutional Court to annul his election as Speaker of the National Assembly, claiming that the secrecy of the vote had been violated, even though the vote was conducted in exactly the same way as always in the past. The Constitutional Court rejected Golob’s challenge entirely.
What angered Golob and the formerly ruling parties was Stevanović’s statement about what is happening in parliament:
“I will really need some time to bring order to the parliament.
Not because I do not know how, but because certain Svoboda MPs behave so street‑like that it is almost unbelievable.
I apologise on their behalf. Everything will be fine.”
The conflict is somewhat comical, because it is a clash between politicians known for their ties to street movements and for street‑level behaviour. Robert Golob’s government came to power four years ago partly through protests in which other parties (DeSUS, SMC) were labelled traitors for joining Janez Janša’s government. During the Covid epidemic, protesters called for Janša’s death and even his murder, which led to a criminal case against Ludvik Tomšič, who was not convicted because the judge ruled that he was not of sound mind while shouting. Among the protest organisers, though he failed to capitalise on this in the previous elections, was also Stevanović, who has similar experience with street confrontations and is in no way behind Svoboda, SD, or Levica in this regard.
When it comes to parliamentary debates, Svoboda MP from Maribor Lena Grgurevič is already well known as an uncompromising party warrior. In the previous term she even chaired the Justice Committee and became known for insulting opposition MPs, especially from SDS, and for taking away their speaking time. She continues in a similar style now, except that her side no longer has a majority, and now she is the one being cut off in the same way she once cut off others.
In response to demands from the former ruling parties that he apologise, Stevanović told Uroš Slak on POP TV yesterday: “I am sorry, and I am embarrassed that we have to watch such debates in parliament, and I apologise once again to the whole of Slovenia that they must watch such rowdy behaviour as we see now. I see no sexism in my statement. According to the SSKJ dictionary, a ‘pocestnik’ is a vagabond, a drifter, and when you want to describe behaviour that does not follow its function or the rhetoric appropriate for an institution that should represent the temple of democracy and the state of Slovenia, this is simply one of the mildest expressions you can use.” When Slak pointed out that “pocestno” and “pocestniški” also relate to “pocestnica,” a derogatory term for a prostitute, Stevanović replied that accusing someone of “street‑like behaviour” does not mean accusing them of prostitution. He added that people also say someone behaves “as if drunk,” which does not mean they are accusing the person of being an alcoholic.
Lena Grgurevič responded to the criticism of her behaviour by saying that Stevanović is a fraud and a violent man, proof that clothes do not make the man, and neither does the function. He replied: “This is a level of communication I will not descend to. It is unworthy of me personally and of my office.”
On social media, the conflict has escalated into a full‑blown war, including false accusations about who said what:
“When Barbara deliberately and falsely attributes to Stevanović something he never said.
Typical left‑wing propaganda. They simply lie.”