By: Luka Perš / Nova24tv
“You are lying to us, you second-class bitch, do you think we are your Bosnians?”; “You are just a lying gob, just like all SDS members! With those few euros, the pensioners will really be able to help themselves, and you are bragging about the raises. SHAME ON YOU!”; “620 euro, are you not ashamed, you gang of thieves, everyone in turn. Have you ever worked or do you just loll your ass around the parliament? You could at least be quiet”. These are just a few grossly insulting comments on the news of SDS MP Eva Irgl that the minimum pension for more than 100,000 pensioners will be 620 euros. This time, the MP was realistically unjustly convicted of long-standing problems in the field of pensions in Slovenia. It was the left wing governments that destroyed the built pension system in the past, when from the so-called third pillar the money was spent everywhere else, just not to pay pensions.
An MP from Slovenian Democratic Party, Eva Irgl, shared the news on her Facebook profile that more than a hundred thousand Slovenian pensioners will receive a higher pension. Thus, the amendments to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act will ensure that in the future the minimum full-time pension will be 620 euros. Interestingly, the Levica Party also boasted about this at the last congress. A member of the largest parliamentary party published data on pension increases that are in line with the state’s public finance capabilities.
From the work of the current government, we should highlight only a few visible results in the field of improving the social position of pensioners. During the first and second waves of the epidemic, solidarity allowances were paid in three anti-corona laws for pensioners with the lowest pensions, regular and extraordinary adjustment of pensions, increase in interest rates for men, and an annual allowance for 600,000 pensioners planned for this year. The issue of long-term care is also being regulated. In this area alone, the current government has allocated 10 million euros more than the previous left wing government of Šarec. An additional 1,100 places have been announced in nursing homes. An Office for Demography and a Demographic Fund is hereby established. Last year, more than 200 million euros of additional funds were allocated compared to Šarec’s government.
Are people angry because Karl Erjavec swindled them of higher pensions?
SDS MP Eva Irgl shared the news in good faith to announce another positive news for Slovenian pensioners. But under her post on the social network Facebook, a sea of uncultured and grossly offensive comments poured in. Thus, some insulted the long-time MP with the terms whore, chicken, sheep, and other insults against the Slovenian Democratic Party. Among the pile of comments, there were some realists who are aware that the current government is the least to blame for the long-standing poor pension situation. We can all agree that the full-time amount of 620 euros is low. However, the current government, which inherited the catastrophic legacy of left wing governments led by Alenka Bratušek, Miro Cerar, and Marjan Šarec, cannot be held responsible.
Karl Viktor Erjavec, the former president of the DeSUS party, should take the blame for the responsibility for low pensions. Recall that in 2008 he promised a minimum pension of 1,000 euros. For as many as 12 years, left wing governments have persistently neglected the situation of retirees and have not paid much attention to higher pensions. The current government has taken the issue of retirement very seriously, so DeSUS MPs (except Jurij Lep) would rather remain part of the government coalition than run away together with Erjavec.