“This is also why Slovenia urgently needs a strategic stabilisation of the internal situation. The only democratic path to this solution is to hold early elections to the National Assembly as soon as possible and then form a strong and operational government that will be able to face internal and external challenges and be independent of unelected centres of power. For the time being, it is only the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) that has such a team gathered around the recently appointed Strategic Council of the SDS party, which is capable of successfully assuming responsibility tomorrow without a lengthy induction process,” Janez Janša commented on recent political developments, the likes of which we have never seen before in the last 35 years in the Slovenian political space.
The leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Janša, commented on the X network on current political developments after the news that the newspaper Delo was preparing a Mediana public opinion poll that predicted a complete collapse in the popularity of Robert Golob and a drop in support for his party shocked the public.
As Janša commented, these are events the likes of which have not been seen before in our political space in the last 35 years. He named them after the famous film “Der Untergang” (The Fall) and predicted the downfall of the current ruling political class. “The centres of power, whose existence is no longer even hidden, are very nervously looking for a replacement for Prime Minister Golob,” Janša said in regard to the events, adding that they are an attempt to prolong the power of an incompetent coalition and to buy time to create a “new” face.
You can read Janez Janša’s statement in its entirety below:
“For a few days now, the mainstream media have been trying to prepare the public for the shock of tomorrow’s Mediana poll in the Delo newspaper. Something like this has never happened in the last 35 years. The political #DerUntergang of the formal ruling set is in the air. The centres of power, whose existence is no longer even hidden, are very nervously looking for a replacement for Prime Minister Golob. They want to prolong the power of the incompetent coalition and buy time to create a “new” face. The leadership of the Social Democrats (Socialni demokrati – SD) and the Left (Levica) parties in the coalition are actively cooperating in this. The resentment, anger and rage of the main power centre have grown even more after the latest conflict between the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda) and the New Slovenia party (Nova Slovenija – NSi). This is because it jeopardises their key political objective for this mandate: constitutional amendments to cement the appointment of judges without the public’s involvement, to change the electoral system to the will of the transitional left, and to introduce the possibility of selective decision-making at the Constitutional Court.
Ever since the year 2000, when the united Slovenian People’s Party (Slovenska ljudska stranka – SLS) and Slovenian Christian Democrats (Slovensko krščanski demokrati – SKD) allowed the transitional left to amend the constitution to prevent the introduction of a majority system, the unelected power centres have failed to secure a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, which would allow them to implement changes that are to their liking. This time, thanks to the collaboration of the New Slovenia party, things were looking great, but the Freedom Movement party’s solo action in deposing the New Slovenia cadres now threatens this crucial goal. Conditionally, only the New Slovenia party can prolong Prime Minister Golob’s political life for a while by not withdrawing its support for the controversial constitutional amendments. The nervousness of the unelected power centres is all the greater because the chaotic situation among the Freedom Movement MPs may also lead to Prime Minister Golob’s replacement being foiled and, thus, to early elections before they are prepared for them. In the coming weeks and months, we can therefore expect an all-but-stable environment for the necessary reforms and reconstruction after the August storm. In addition, the heavy artillery (repression) of the power centres, with their already tried and tested methods of abuse of state bodies and mainstream media, will be going after the SDS party and the few media outlets (Nova24TV, Demokracija …) that they do not control. As the external environment is also more unstable than at any time since our independence, and with a strong deteriorating trend, the time ahead will be dangerous. This is also why Slovenia urgently needs a strategic stabilisation of the internal situation.
The only democratic path to this solution is early elections to the National Assembly, followed by the formation of a strong and operational government that will be able to face internal and external challenges and be independent of unelected centres of power. For the time being, it is only the SDS party that has such a team, gathered around the recently appointed SDS Strategic Council, which is capable of successfully assuming responsibility tomorrow without a lengthy induction. But for elections and the period that would follow them, it will also be necessary to bring in many who, despite their undeniable competence and moral integrity, have so far shied away from working for the common good within the executive. For much of the work is overdue, and it is high time for a formula of joining forces for a Slovenia without exclusion.”
Andrej Žitnik
