By: Spletni časopis
With 41 votes against and 29 in favour, MPs from the Freedom Movement, the Social Democrats, and the Left rejected the dismissal of the Minister for a Solidary Future, Simon Maljevac (Left), at 11:43 PM. Maljevac, together with the coalition, implemented the collection of long-term care contributions, even from pensioners, yet the promised care has still not been provided, even months later.
Only half of the Social Democrat (SD) MPs voted for Maljevac, while the rest were absent, similar to six missing MPs from the Freedom Movement. As a result, fewer than half of all MPs supported the minister. The opposition alone did not have enough votes to secure his dismissal. MPs from the Independent (Democrats) parliamentary group also voted for his removal.
“Who is making a mockery of this? Who is playing dumb at the expense of the people in this country? Nothing is free. All those pensioners who, hopefully one day, will gain the right to long-term care when it is finally implemented, they have already paid for it.” This was the protest from Jelka Godec, leader of the SDS parliamentary group, during the interpellation debate against Minister for a Solidary Future Simon Maljevac’s assurances that care would be free. She continued: “If the minister lies to people by saying that long-term home care is free, he is lying to their faces. It is not free. Nothing in this country is free. Someone always pays, and it is the pensioners, farmers, sole proprietors, private sector employees, public sector workers, in short, all actively employed people. And it is not free. Otherwise, if the minister truly believes it is, then he should tell us where the money for long-term care is coming from. This is a blatant lie. And then to claim it is a defence against private sector capital interests, shameful. What this ministry and this government are doing is collecting contributions from people in distress, while failing to implement what the law and their own timeline require.”
The Left party continued to promote the idea of free long-term care, stating: “Even when I was 20, I did not go to the doctor often, but I still paid health insurance. When I needed a doctor, I knew I could go and get help for free. We are building the long-term care system in the same way. When we or our loved ones, our mothers or grandmothers, need it, we will not have to worry about how deep our pockets are. That is the foundation of this system. And I believe it is also the foundation of a social state.”
Godec added further criticism regarding the government’s stance on “capital” and its achievements: “The biggest achievement was the creation of the new Ministry for a Solidary Future. It was said there would be no additional funding, no new hires. Let’s not even get into how many people are employed. Of the 90 employees, according to last year’s data, two-thirds work from home, and large sums were paid out for increased workloads, even to those working remotely, especially in the sector or directorate for elderly and long-term care.”