By: Ana Horvat (Nova24TV.si)
“First, for the New Year, the same president flew with a falcon to nearby Vienna for a concert, now she is traveling to some African countries that have nothing to do with the functioning of the parliament she leads. This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. If we are talking about a candidacy for a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) against Belarus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government must work there, not the parliament,” said a long-time journalist and editor Peter Jančič regarding the African adventure of Urška Klakočar Zupančič and Mojca Šetinc Pašek. He also described the route as pure parliamentary tourism. He doubts that Klakočar and Pašek are such influential diplomats that they can surpass the power of China and Russia.
In the Ura moči show with host Bojan Požar, Peter Merše expressed his belief that the matter is so bizarre at first glance that it attracts attention. Namely, we could see the MP in torn jeans, the president of the National Assembly with a cleavage, walking around and taking pictures like an Instagram influencer. “This suits teenage girls who take pictures for Instagram, but not to the President of the National Assembly.” A visit to Africa itself has never before attracted so much attention. Minister Anže Logar was also in Rwanda, but it did not elicit such a reaction because he knew how to behave. In this case, according to him, we saw a tourist, not a diplomat, a politician representing a sovereign state. “In this sense, we see that some tourism is going on in the name of seeking support for candidacy in the UN General Assembly. I think that with her appearance, as we could see on social networks, she did more harm than good in the sense that she made the country laugh, but not that she gained any serious voice”, he pointed out and said that the elections will reveal everything. According to Merše, Klakočar is trying to improve her public image by adopting animals and is showing herself to the public because she has adopted a gorilla or a chimpanzee.
It is pure tourism
Peter Jančič reminded that we in the parliament once had serious problems with parliamentarian tourism and added that for this reason the unnecessary and bizarre trips of large delegations to countries that had no importance from the point of view of the functioning of the parliament were discontinued. “Now we have some new practice. First, for the New Year, the same president flew with a falcon to nearby Vienna for a concert, now she is traveling to some African countries, which have nothing to do with the functioning of the parliament she leads. This is a pure waste of taxpayers’ money,” he is convinced. He also believes that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government should work on candidacy for the UN General Assembly, and not the parliament. “There we hear from our representatives that we share common values with a country that persecutes homosexuals, the LGBT community is absolutely forbidden,” he warned, adding that there was something positive – because of this, Mojca Pašek Šetinc was not in the country for a few days and she did not persecute the opposition media, which is what she does in our country. “There are some similarities with African countries, maybe she is looking for inspiration there. They brutally killed each other there, in fact it is a country where they lack men because they are dead, and that is why women are relatively influential.” According to him, even Pikalo from SD warned her about this reality. Jančič hopes that journalists will take a detailed look at the costs of this route, just as he himself did ten years ago. Požar remarked that the costs were said to be around 180,000 euros.
Požar forwarded Igor Lukšič’s statement that he sees a problem with Robert Golob and Klakočar in appearing in public as people who have so far been inexperienced in public speaking. Merše believes that this is undoubtedly the case with Klakočar. Regarding Rwanda, we could also learn a lot from them, it is true that they had a terrible genocide, but unlike us, they carried out a process of reconciliation much better. “However, it is interesting that on the one hand, Slovenia joins the EU members on LGBT issues, while on the other hand we identify with Uganda, which is very restrictive in this area.” At the same time, Požar reminded that the ladies could at least read the material about the countries prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the plane. In light of this, Jančič reminded us of the problem of new faces coming to the very top of important institutions. “If the parliament was led by someone who has experience from the past, he would not go to such a trip when it comes to parliamentary tourism.” He thinks that it is necessary to think carefully about where one is going. “Before the elections, we were told that we would join core Europe. One would expect them to be headed there, not going around Africa and other similar countries.” According to Merše, however, Tanja Fajon announced a feminist foreign policy that will teach the peripheral countries of the world about gender equality. “This is not such a surprise, but it is interesting to assess how Slovenia has come closer to core Europe.”
If the main theme of the visit is gorilla adoption, then that is a problem
According to Požar, as far as the UN General Assembly is concerned, countries usually vote the way their big sponsors tell them to. In the case of Uganda, China is decisive. “Perhaps it would be better if we discussed the votes directly with the Chinese.” At the same time, Jančič reminded that Putin also has great influence in Africa. “I doubt that Urška Klakočar Zupančič and Mojca Šetinc Pašek are such influential diplomats that they can surpass the power of China and Russia.” In the show, they talked about the fact that Klakočar has a model of adopting animals. Požar was interested if she gains popularity in this way. “With a certain group of people, there is a concern for animals, which the Gibanje Svoboda party tries to appeal to, including with vegan experiments. It is difficult to judge the effectiveness. Apparently, that is how she works. Caring for animals is her highest priority in life,” commented Merše. “If the main theme of the visit is the adoption of gorillas, then this is a problem. If this is a marginal gesture, I do not see a problem here.”
Jančič finds it more problematic than the adoption of animals that the companion Tina Gaber acted as Golob’s official companion and accompanied the wife of the Macedonian Prime Minister, even though Golob is not even divorced yet. This is quite controversial, but according to Golob, he likes to rush and has a lot of problems because of it. For example, regarding judges’ salaries, he rushed to RTVS to change everything and set his own, but now he has problems with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia. “His companion takes care of animals, participates in government groups that are preparing some kind of reform.”
It is a complete disgrace to journalism and public service
In the following, they also started a protest of RTVS journalists who want the resignation of the management. Golob also got involved, who said that he tried to solve the matter in a civilised way but did not say how he would solve things now. Asta Vrečko also appeared and called for resignation. When asked by Požar, if things will escalate, Jančič replied that there is a possibility that the matter will escalate, because it seems that the government has completely lost their minds. The same applies to journalists (4 percent of journalists) who protested. The Constitutional Court stopped the replacement of the entire top. The leadership has lost their mandates, now they work in acting positions. “The Constitutional Court has said that no new ones can be named until they have made a decision. We have a protest of journalists demanding that they name new ones. Moreover, at the protest of journalists who should report impartially, a politician from the Levica party came and together with them called for the violation of the constitutional order and the Constitutional Court’s ruling.” According to Jančič, this is a complete disgrace to journalism and the public service, because they applauded it. “There is a clear connection that journalists are harnessed to the politics of the Levica party. I have never seen journalists submit to a politician in such a way. It is a public RTVS, but no one is bothered by that,” he pointed out critically. Merše is also of the opinion that things can escalate. According to him, the problem is that someone from whom impartial reporting is expected explicitly declares himself as a supporter and applauds the takeover of RTVS.
Golob admitted that he wanted things to be resolved in a civilised way, but now he regrets that Svoboda did not take over RTVS earlier and then depoliticise it. According to Merše, they changed the law and counted on changing the entire leadership. “It bothers them that they got stuck in legal proceedings and that it did not go smoothly. They present the referendum result as additional legitimacy, which it is supposed to give them for taking over RTVS, while it is clear that during the referendum people were not informed about what they were really voting on.” Jančič reminded that last week in parliament we saw how Svoboda MPs reached a decision calling on the government to violate the constitutional order. “They proposed to the government to replace the supervisors, although the Constitutional Court froze the appointment of new people. The funniest thing is that Svoboda, NSi and the government parties are straining to change the constitution. Why are they talking about changing the constitution, if they do not respect it anyway, violate judgments, disregard everything.”
It is an attempt at political ping pong
Regarding the removal of judges on the RTVS amendment, the President of the National Assembly and the government proposed the removal of Klemen Jaklič, even though they are not parties to the proceedings, Uroš Urbanija wants the removal of Matej Accetta, and Gregorič wants the removal of Neža Kogovšek Šalamon. Merše believes that the government is losing its temper regarding RTVS. Before, according to Jančič, Svoboda only had an enemy who was acceptable to the left – Janez Janša. They went against him, and right now they are fighting against the Constitutional Court. On top of that, they have a two-thirds majority. According to him, the proposal to expel Kogovšek is justified, as she was the director of the Peace Institute in the past and is still employed there today. “The Peace Institute participated directly in the campaign and even now demands from the Constitutional Court that the government must be satisfied. The proposal for Jaklič’s expulsion is controversial in terms of content, because he is accused of having, 15-20 years ago, represented a position on the currently valid law, which passed a referendum.” Merše was surprised that the institute joined the intervention, even though they have nothing to do there. “There is a strong desire for influence. It can be seen from the Moon that elimination is necessary.” In his words, Judge Jan Zobec explained that according to the law, if you have expertise in a certain law, this is not a reason for exclusion. “It is an attempt at political ping pong,” he concluded.