By: Vida Kocjan
Alenka Bratušek spent a billion euros by expropriating more than 100,000 holders of subordinated bonds in Slovenian state-owned banks during her tenure. She also admitted that she had deliberately violated human rights by depriving citizens of their savings when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recently ruled in this regard.
Furthermore, Bratušek rescued tycoons from private banks (Probanka and Factor banka) in her time, and for the rehabilitation of the Slovenian banking system she preferred to take out loans up to three times more expensive on the international financial markets than if she had carried out this rehabilitation with European funds. However, then this rehabilitation would be under scrutiny, control, and her doing would be prevented. Thus, we pay around 600 million euros more in interest per year than we could have.
Slovenia’s public debt increased by almost 10 billion euros in 2013 and 2014 (from 16.8 euros in 2012 to 26 billion euros in 2014), the most in the history of an independent state. Interest accounted for 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), today that is 1.2 percent of GDP.
Along with all this, Slovenia is flooded with billboards today, where Bratušek brags that the SAB “once saved Slovenia from bankruptcy”. Yes, Bratušek saved the tycoons, not the state and the taxpayers. The consequences of Alenka Bratušek’s rule are catastrophic. We pay the bills through interest and loan repayments, and we will also pay the bill regarding the expropriated holders of subordinated bonds of state banks!