The parties Concretely (Konkretno), Slovenian People’s Party (Slovenska ljudska stranka), Andrej Čuš and the Greens of Slovenia (Andrej Čuš in Zeleni Slovenije), New People’s Party of Slovenia (Nova ljudska stranka Slovenije) and New Social Democracy (Novi socialdemokrati) have officially joined forces on Wednesday, and thus “sealed” their joint appearance at this year’s parliamentary elections. Today, the Let’s Connect Slovenia political alliance (Povežimo Slovenijo) has officially seen the light of day.
Today, a group of parties that will run in the elections as the political alliance Let’s Connect Slovenia presented some of its candidates for the position of MPs and also presented their programme’s starting points. The Slovenian People’s Party is led by Marjan Podobnik, the Concretely party by Zdravko Počivalšek, the Greens of Slovenia by Andrej Čuš, the New People’s Party of Slovenia by Franc Kangler, and the New Social Democracy by Andrej Magajna.
By signing the agreement, the parties agreed to form a joint list of the best candidates under the name Let’s Connect Slovenia, and the contract also determines the professional, personnel, technical and spatial assistance and support of the new political alliance. By signing the agreement, the party presidents agreed to help decide on the key steps of the campaign and provide mutual assistance in all campaign activities. In addition, they also committed to joint cooperation after the elections, which means that the parties will have to decide on all decisions unanimously.
Beyond differences and focusing on the future
“By signing the contract, you have shown how Slovenia can work. Beyond differences and focusing on the future. We believe that these signatures are not the last ones we will get,” said Marko Balažic, the official speaker of the Let’s Connect Slovenia movement, after the official signing of the presidents of all of the involved parties.
After the signing, the signatories all gave short statements. The initiator of the movement, Nada Pavšer, was the first to address the guests and said: “Today is a great day for the Let’s Connect Slovenia movement. Because we want common sense to prevail, because we also want different politics in Slovenia, because we want cooperation, and because we want connection – and this is the right path.”
Alojz Kovšca, Vice-President of the party Concretely, was the next to take the floor, and he said that “sitting at this table are the people who have a history of mutual relations, which were sometimes very good, sometimes less good, sometimes bad, but never exclusive against anyone, and this is, in my opinion, a key guide for successful policies in the future of Slovenia.” He also added that the members of the Let’s Connect Slovenia movement are open to cooperation and believe that they will be successful in the upcoming elections.
“In the Let’s Connect Slovenia alliance, we want to build a healthy and strong Slovenia, with the very important, strong healthcare sector, which needs to be sustainable, fair, long-term, transparent, and trustworthy. It must be modern, efficient, and empathetic. We want empathetic doctors and nurses, who are not burned out, to be able to do their job the way they know best. And we have to support and enable them to do just that,” said the alliance’s candidate for the position of Minister of Health, Dr Tina Bregant, who also revealed that in their desire for state-of-the-art medicine, the movement is also considering a new academic hospital with a campus,
The other signatories of the agreement also got the floor, and the next person to address those gathered at the signing was Andrej Čus, who began by saying that he was pleased that after lots of coordination, the Let’s Connect Slovenia movement had finally gotten its official start, and emphasised the importance of environmental policy, which the Greens of Slovenia also advocate. “Today, we are in a situation in Slovenia, where groundwater, soil, water and air are being poisoned, and if we look at the debates being held in the National Assembly, we quickly realise that the same thing is happening in the temple of democracy.”
“In the New People’s Party of Slovenia, we are very happy to have proved and shown to Slovenia that conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue, and there was lots of positive dialogue between us signatories. Slovenia found itself in a political standstill just before the elections, and this standstill is harming the Slovenian economy, the Slovenian nation, the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, so it is the responsibility of all of us to create the future of politics in Slovenia, to unite, and not exclude,” said the President of the New People’s Party of Slovenia, Franc Kangler.
Andrej Magajna has previously already said that the Let’s Connect Slovenia movement reminds him of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, also known as DEMOS (the coalition of the centre-right parties which won the first multiparty election in the country); however, he believes that DEMOS is unique, as the goals were different at the time when it existed, but he also highlighted the diversity among the members of the new political alliance and compared with the diversity of the parties of the former DEMOS. He went on to say that it is a fact that Slovenia had known how to come together in the past when it was needed and that “without values, we cannot move forward.”
“We show that we are able to overcome our differences and that we are focused on what we all have in common – caring for the future of Slovenia and caring for our people,” concluded Zdravko Počivalšek. He also highlighted the importance of connecting, as this is key for our success in meeting and resolving the challenges of the future, adding that by doing so, we can change the thinking in Slovenian politics and build responsible social and economic development instead of further dividing the nation.
Tanja Brkić
