“The measures can only be lifted when we eliminate Covid-19 to such an extent that it will no longer burden the healthcare system,” Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša told Radio Ognjišče, adding that “until then, that will simply not be possible.” He then pointed out that only portraying society as divided into those who want to get vaccinated and those who do not want to get vaccinated is wrong, as that leads us to forget the fact that the virus is our common enemy.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the show “Pogovor o” (A Discussion About) on Radio Ognjišče, hosted by Marta Jerebič and Tanja Domniko. On the show, the hosts and their guest talked about the Covid-19 epidemic, the current work of the government, relations in the coalition, and Slovenian’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
At the beginning of the conversation, the Prime Minister spoke about tackling the Covid-19 epidemic. He pointed out that the situation is serious across the globe and that most European countries have adopted more or less similar measures. Austria has decided for partial closing of public life in order to try and save the ski season during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The RVT rule (recovered, tested, vaccinated) rule is currently in force in Slovenia, and if we adhere to it, we can significantly help to improve the situation. Regarding vaccination, Prime Minister said that Slovenia’s vaccination rate is relatively low, which means that the pressure on the healthcare system and hospitals is continuously increasing, while the epidemic is also prolonged. “When we get vaccinated, we protect not only ourselves but others as well.” Janša then went on to talk about the self-testing of primary school children and the fact that in recent days, the highest number of cases detected due to rapid tests was recorded among primary school children. “When the testing among primary school children started, we soon realised there were very few problems, but quite a lot of benefits.” With rapid testing among elementary school students, the infection is detected in a timely manner, infected students are then isolated, and the infection is not transmitted further. The positive consequence of this is that fewer people get sick, there is less pressure on medical staff and facilities, and thus, the people who do not have Covid-19 but also need treatment can actually get treated in a timely manner.
The virus is the only enemy
Regarding communication with the public during the epidemic, the Prime Minister said that there were no significant differences in communication in other countries compared to Slovenia. By communicating through social networks, the government managed to present certain measures to the public, which the national media outlets did not want to report on. Media coverage was unbalanced in certain cases. When asked about why the level of communication had dropped, and about the attacks, Janša said that when a family is attacked, threats are harder to overlook. “Colleagues from other European countries say that they have also received threats elsewhere; however, the difference is that those who made threats elsewhere are not protected, unlike in Slovenia. If any of the threats actually come to the prosecutor’s office, it is usually not taken seriously enough and not prosecuted.”
Regarding the possible lifting of the measures, the Prime Minister said that the measures could only be lifted when we eliminate Covid-19 to such an extent that it will no longer burden the healthcare system. “But until that happens, that will simply not be possible.” He then pointed out that only portraying society as divided into those who want to get vaccinated and those who do not want to get vaccinated is wrong, as that leads us to forget the fact that the virus is our common enemy. “The virus threatens everyone – it does not discriminate. Not by gender, not by race, and not by political belief.” During the conversation, the Prime Minister also talked about the role of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court during the epidemic and about the unreasonable decision of the Supreme Court that the violation of one of the key protective measures (the wearing of masks) cannot be sanctioned.
The main goal of the current government is to decentralise Slovenia
The Prime Minister then talked about the current work of the government and the relations in the coalition. He emphasised that one of the main goals of this coalition was the decentralisation of Slovenia. When asked whether all ministers enjoy the Prime Minister’s support, he replied that as long as they are ministers, they have to have his support. Regarding the filed votes of no confidence, the Prime Minister said that the vote of no confidence is a legitimate instrument but that the large number of filed interpellations indicates a lack of vision and programme of those who are filing them. He also spoke about Slovenia’s borrowing during the epidemic and pointed out that Slovenia borrowed 20 percent less than the European Union average. He also said that it is very important that Slovenia managed to retain jobs during this epidemic. “Last week, Slovenia achieved something important – the highest employment rate in the history of our own country. Never before have so many people been employed in Slovenia as they are now.” Regarding cooperation with other parties, Janša said that the Slovenian Democratic Party has had a principled approach for 20 years now of not excluding anyone.
At the end of the conversation on Radio Ognjišče, the Prime Minister also spoke about Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the migrant crisis, which is now being resolved differently and better than in 2015. He said that by far, the greatest success of the Slovenian Presidency was harmonising the positions of all 27 member states regarding the migrant wave coming from Afghanistan. “We will help the refugees in their home countries, in the neighbouring countries, we will help those who helped us during the NATO mission in Afghanistan, but there will be no “welcome” corridors.” During the conversation, the Prime Minister also spoke about the migrant crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, about different concepts of the rule of law, about double standards, and about the enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans. At the end of the conversation, the Prime Minister congratulated Radio Ognjišče on its 27th birthday and said that when the radio station was first created, it was like the morning star, which brought an important breath of fresh air and a certain balance to the Slovenian radio media space.
Sara Kovač
