By: C. R.
After turbulent events in the National Assembly, SDS President Janez Janša responded.
He emphasised that the President of the National Assembly announced she would not allow the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly to be respected. He pointed out that in the entire history of Slovenian parliamentarism, it has never happened that the head of this legislative branch of government announced in advance the manipulation of procedures. The President of the National Assembly declared a change in the section of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia that stipulates a 30-day period for considering a proposal for an advisory referendum. “If you are going to change something, it means that it exists; and while they’re talking about it existing, when they say they will not allow it to be respected, they are simply making decisions that are contrary to this procedure.”
He further warned that procedure in democracy is the mother of the rule of law. “If you do not respect procedure, if you do not respect the law or the rules adopted by a two-thirds majority, then there are no more rules. And there is simply no defence against this. Now, if there are no more rules, then the opposition can declare itself the majority and replace the Prime Minister,” Janez Janša explained.
“There might be some understanding if Slovenia were in a state of emergency, if we were threatened by an epidemic, pandemic, external danger, war, or natural disaster, to break some deadline. But this is not the case. It is an action where it makes absolutely no difference whether it is taken today or not,” he warned, highlighting that it is not just about a provision of the rules but also about the fact that this provision has been strictly enforced until now. “This 30-day period was respected even during the pandemic, when those who now claim it is an abuse of the rules were massively filing such proposals for advisory referendums, and we calmly waited for the period to expire. Even though it was about measures to save the health and lives of people in Slovenia, we did not accuse the opposition of supporting genocide at that time,” the SDS President stated clearly.
In conclusion, he stressed that he believes the President of the National Assembly may find some things meaningless, but… “If the model of the rule of law in Slovenia is such that what seems sensible to a person in a certain position prevails, and not what is written in the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly or the law, then the state of the rule of law in Slovenia is worse than in Gaza.”