Prime Minister Robert Golob has repeatedly shown his utter contempt for doctors, most recently by calling them “parasites”. We asked three doctors what they thought about this. Dr Alenka Forte: “I think this is highly inappropriate for a prime minister and shows that he is not a statesman, it shows a certain vileness of character.” Dr Tina Bregant: “It is the language of tyrants who enjoy the role of a tyrant. Adolf Hitler called his enemies human scum, so did Joseph Stalin.” Dr Federico Potočnik: “Listen to this! They have realised that if they bring enough discord between us and you – if they destroy this sacred relationship enough, they might get a few more votes in the elections. Votes at the expense of your health. This is so vile that I cannot find a more appropriate word for it.”
Prime Minister Robert Golob has repeatedly shown his contempt for the medical profession in public, even though he himself benefits from its services. He has called doctors “rotten apples” and said that some of them do little or nothing, even though they have saved his health in the past. This is totally disrespectful communication, which is unworthy of the office of Prime Minister. Rather, it could be said that a “parasite” (which is what he also called doctors) is someone who constantly imposes new taxes on taxpayers or raises existing ones.
The government, the national media outlet, and NGOs behave like “parasites”
All in order to satisfy his own greed, the greed of the national media outlet – RTV Slovenia, where there are 2,200 people employed (including many who do very little work), and of left-wing NGOs (an example is the Today is a New Day Institute – Danes je nov dan – led by Filip Muki Dobranić; this is also an exemplary case of foreign (Dutch) interference in Slovenian internal affairs) or of the servile media (Anuška Delić, Martin Odlazek, etc.). Readers should decide for themselves whether it is morally acceptable to insult those who are saving us with “parasites”.
Commentary by Alenka Forte, MD:
“I think this is highly inappropriate for a prime minister and shows that he is not a statesman, it shows a certain vileness of character. Let us look at his history. This is a man who has ‘jobbed’ in electricity and made a fortune (in millions of euros)… It is a pity to waste even a single word on such a man, or how he would be described… The terms he uses say everything there is to say about such a man.
He was born with a ‘silver spoon’ in his mouth; he ate with a ‘silver spoon’… A man who insults people who work hard, who are dedicated to their mission, who work overtime for years and years, such a man is not the statesman and prime minister that Slovenia deserves. His behaviour is extremely unstatesmanlike. This is the language of ‘drunks’ in some backwater ‘pub’, ‘sipping’ a little wine. Such a statement says everything about him – what he is like as a human being. It is a pity that he represents Slovenia on the European political floor.
And when you talk to people from abroad – they can’t believe what is happening in Slovenian healthcare at the moment. Foreigners cannot believe that in a system that depends on the operators (doctors), the current state authorities allow this to happen. I have no words. I cannot find a similar case abroad, not even in a former communist regime.
The same terminology could be used by Golob for secondary school teachers, university professors, architects, journalists, engineers, etc. (for people who are motivated and want to work more), who do extra work on top of their regular job to improve their financial situation. The salaries of Slovenian educated people are truly disgraceful in relation to GDP.”
Commentary by Tina Bregant, MD:
“Prime Minister Golob’s insults are primitive and say more about him than about those he calls “amphibians” and “parasites”. It is the language of tyrants who enjoy the role of a tyrant. Adolf Hitler called his enemies human scum, and so did Joseph Stalin. The North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, and his regime, have referred to Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, as a ‘bloodsucker’ and ‘human scum’. I do not want, and I refuse to have the highest decision-makers in the country speaking that language.
Why Golob’s colleagues, his PR advisers and also journalists, as the 4th branch of government, allow Prime Minister Golob to speak like that, I do not know. But the fact is that whoever tolerates such speech and does not condemn it as inappropriate is lowering the bar. The devaluation and discrediting of a profession, which is to say, the vilification of doctors as parasites; people who help people in the greatest pain and distress, at the same time sets a dangerous precedent, where the values of human equality, of respect, of helping one’s fellow human beings, are no longer a value, but an object of ridicule.
From here, it is no longer far to the self-righteous tyrants who take it upon themselves to not only insult and discredit their fellow human beings, but also to liquidate those who think differently. Therefore, this should be condemned immediately, especially by his political associates; all statements by Prime Minister Golob should be boycotted, he should not be given a place in the media until he apologises, not only to doctors, but to all citizens, for his improper statements.”
Comment by Federico Potočnik, MD:
“The Prime Minister recently told another lie – now, it was that we doctors are parasites. Although we have become accustomed to the Prime Minister lying, this statement is worrying. Now, it is not worrying – because it is a lie. The Prime Minister’s cabinet has confirmed that these so-called ‘parasites’ do not exist and that the Prime Minister has probably invented them in the war he is waging against Slovenians, because he clearly does not care about the victims.
What is most worrying is that the Prime Minister is deliberately destroying the doctor-patient relationship. This relationship is built up over a lifetime and is a sacred thing for us! When you are sick and in need, you come to us. And you trust us to work for your benefit. That is our mission, to keep you healthy!
Now, the government has jumped into pre-election mode. They have said that they will go to the elections with the healthcare issue. Not because they want to improve it – they have completely screwed up the healthcare service – but because they smell that they can get some votes by waging a war against healthcare workers. Listen to this! They have realised that if they bring enough discord between us and you – if they destroy this sacred relationship enough, they might get a few more votes in the elections. Votes at the expense of your health. This is so vile that I cannot find a more appropriate word for it.
Because, you know, they don’t care about the healthcare reform. The situation in the healthcare service is getting worse every month – yet every measure they have taken has made it even worse. If anyone does not believe me, they should simply look at the queues outside the healthcare centres. In Tolmin, they have been left without an emergency service. Will there be queues outside the emergency room, too?
Doctors and other healthcare workers will continue to work in spite of this terrible government, because your health is at stake. It is up to you to make this the last year of the systematic destruction of Slovenian healthcare.”
Domen Mezeg
