By: Kavarna Hayek
The title of Jože Možina’s book (The Slovenian Separation) could not be better and more realistically portray not only wartime Slovenia, but also the decades after it. What started with the revolution is still going on and refuses to end in any way: to have a divided nation in order to rule more easily. And everyone, from staunch communists to modern-day revivalists, has mastered the lesson perfectly, knowing that appeasement, where arguments prevail over force and truth over lies, would mean their bitter end. This is also why there are bullying, threats, and division. The pogrom against Boris Tomašič is only a stage in their activities.
The divisiveness and preventing the right to function when it comes to power legitimately and legally, and its demonisation when it is in the opposition, is not only a Slovenian specialty. It is similar everywhere in the developed world – from Europe to across the Atlantic (Steve McCann’s excellent description of US duality, which also inspired this post). Everywhere, the awakened people inclined to socialism have succeeded in poisoning the relations between citizens, if it is not their way, rampage and creating chaotic conditions follows. When it is their way, they come up with something new. And they repeat the exercise. With the desire to delete everyone who disagrees with them. Slovenia is a special case.
Instead of Slovenian men and women enjoying their beautiful homeland, being proud of having their own country, and trying to contribute to prosperity and progress, we are witnessing the continuation of the revolution and the class struggle, which apparently never ends. The continuation was made possible by a bunch of otherwise educated but decadent, radical and spineless individuals who, for their selfish interests, are always trying to preserve the rift made by their ideological or blood ancestors. It must be admitted that they are efficient and damn successful in what they do: Slovenia has two faces today, this part of the world has two Slovenias.
One Slovenia believes that it is their inalienable right to be in power all the time. If they happen to fail in the elections or lose power due to a split in their coalition, diversions, and denial of legitimacy to right-wing governments immediately follow. We have witnessed this every time the government was not led by the transitional left and the heirs of the revolutionary regime. (Violent) protests, incitement, death threats, lies of the media mainstream and journalistic activism; it is just part of that ritual.
Other Slovenia, when it loses the elections, peacefully hands over power. They do not think of any kind of protest, destruction of property, or creating riots. This Slovenia does not imagine that it is the only one called to rule, this Slovenia knows that in democratic countries elections are the ones that decide the (ideological) winner. Have you ever seen right-wing citizens go on a rampage after losing an election?
One Slovenia is working hard to limit freedom of speech. Opinions and positions that are not to their liking and that are in conflict with their views on the world, they chase and organise a chase until they get their way. To know which opinion is the only legitimate and correct one. When their media apparatus starts up, they go all the way – to media murder and law enforcement charges. Played subtlety (the last excellent example is the performance of Parliament President Urška Klakočar Zupančič and MP Mojca Pašek Šetinc) is only an accompanying part and an introduction to the holy war against dissenters.
Other Slovenia respects freedom of speech as a fundamental human right and freedom. Occasional uproar is only part of criticising the views of ideological opponents, in no way a way to disable another ideology. At the very least, to issue a fatwa on those they disagree with.
One Slovenia wants to protect the parallel system (in the judiciary, the police, the economy) that was created by the communist regime. In it, they enjoy privileges, are treated leniently by law enforcement, or their obscenities are forgotten in a drawer. They have mercy on (classic) career criminals (drug dealers) because they receive their support (at protests against the right).
Other Slovenia wants all citizens to be equal before the law, which means it believes in the rule of law. This part of Slovenia obtains the necessary permits for rallies and protests because it believes that regulations must be respected. It does not recognise the double track system, which favours the ruling elites and modern “vulnerable” groups.
One Slovenia believes in gender theories and opposing classes. These people are convinced that a more favourable position based on gender, racial and other quotas belong to them automatically, regardless of their abilities. They believe that others must fulfil their demands unconditionally.
Other Slovenia lives in respect for work, which alone brings success in life. According to them, a person advances on the basis of his own knowledge and abilities, they reject a society that builds artificial elitism, where the way up is conditioned by everything else, only success in one’s own sweat.
One Slovenia uses extremely immoral procedures to achieve its goals, uses double standards, bows down to the mass murderers of the previous regime, and worships the culture of death (abortion, post-war massacres).
Other Slovenia lives the life of God-fearing people, wants to respectfully bury those killed and thrown into caves after the war, celebrates independence and honours the culture of life.
One Slovenia says that everything is theirs, that the free-market system is evil and responsible for everything bad on the planet, that business owners are exploiters driven by greed, so they must be expropriated.
Other Slovenia believes that socialism caused the most misery, led to poverty and deprivation, that there is enough evidence for the unacceptability of the (one-party) communist system around the world, that new experiments with socialism are completely unnecessary.
One Slovenia sees ideological opponents as class enemies against whom all means are permitted.
Other Slovenia sees ideological opponents as political rivals, with whom it competes for power with democratic means enshrined in the constitution.
There are more than two faces of Slovenia and it seems that the Slovenian separation is so great that the two Slovenias can no longer (co)exist together within one country, that a win-win situation is no longer possible (when different worldviews face each other in elections and the loser hands over power to the opposite political option without causing riots), but that we are approaching the moment when the middle way will disappear (if it has not already) and one or the other Slovenia must finally win and dominate.
It is (almost) no longer possible to be a centrist in Slovenia today. The worst thing for the state of mind of society is when you declare yourself to be an ideological centre, and then at the first opportunity you smear yourself with Vaseline and for the sake of peace, waiting for the crumbs from the table, you give voice to the loudest and most violent, which are always (but really always) people with the left, which all the time has the hundred percent support of the corrupt hegemonic media and all sub-systems of society. That the left with a new face will supposedly change and become cooperative is thinking without common sense. Supposedly it always brings trouble. Usually worse than they were. Just remember the last left-wing prime ministers, when each one went one step lower.
Is it enough to try to break the umbilical cord between the political and social elite on the left and their street fist, which we recognise in many state-funded NGOs, higher education with academics, eternal (second-rate) entertainers, self-proclaimed important people, and (literally) criminal gangs? Can Slovenia normalise in a peaceful way? One opportunity was missed between 1990 and 1992, when it was allowed that autocrats, communist bosses, leading Udba members, and socialist rats, as the greatest humanitarians, lovers of freedom and blood donors of democracy, settled in independent Slovenia without serious obstacles and eventually under the pretext of liberal the democracies hijacked the country again. The question is (especially if we look at the new government’s plans and their one-month operation) whether there will be a second chance. If it will, this time the good people must not let it go.