The President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) believes that the announced tax reform prepared by the Golob government is actually an attempt to tax those who have bought houses and flats for themselves, who have driven the economy forward by paying taxes, who have solved their housing problem, and not those who are “the richest.” “This is an attack on the prosperity of the middle class,” Janez Janša pointed out.
These days, we will mark one year since Russia began its military aggression. As we watch Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we are also watching the worst humanitarian crisis unfold, but we are also full of admiration for the Ukrainian people, who are showing incredible courage in defending their homeland. That is why the Slovenian Democratic Party parliamentary group is proposing that the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, following the example of the European Parliament and the parliaments of many other countries, adopt a resolution of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia on the recognition of the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism. The leader of the opposition, Janez Janša, said at a press conference: “There is no middle ground here. Either you support Russia, or you don’t. There are dozens of reasons under international law that support declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.” With this, he was referring to acts of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union. The Russian army is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine, along with the Wagner Group mercenaries, which have been proven.
The invasion of Ukraine began as early as 2014
It is enough to take one look at a picture of Mariupol, which, before its destruction, had twice the population of Ljubljana, but now the city is completely destroyed. The Russian army is deliberately destroying the energy infrastructure, causing thousands of excess casualties that we do not see on our television screens. Janša also highlighted the despicable treatment of prisoners of war, the theft of thousands of children, and other heinous crimes. He called on Slovenian authorities to join the EU countries that have already signed up to support the resolution. The Slovenian government should adopt a similar act, while stepping up economic, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The SDS party President then pointed out that one year has already passed since the “all-out attack on Ukraine”, about which Vladimir Putin had claimed one day before that it would not actually happen. The invasion had already started in 2014. Janša also mentioned the “visit of the four” to the Ukrainian capital last spring and Joe Biden’s visit to Kiyv that happened this week. A year ago, the government of the USA invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the USA, to protect him. And because Zelensky stood his ground and stayed in his homeland, today Ukraine is winning.
Janša also mentioned the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, which guaranteed Ukraine peace in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons. The Russian Federation was among the countries that had guaranteed Ukraine peace. Peace was already guaranteed to Ukraine under international law.
“Members of the Freedom Movement coalition have taken money from your salary”
Janša also touched on the announced tax reform of the Robert Golob government. The aim of it is supposedly to tax the richest. He recalled that last year, net wages were raised by raising the general tax credit, which was subsequently stopped by the current government. “If they had not lowered the tax credit, that, in itself, would have been a lot. Members of the Freedom Movement (Gibanje svoboda) coalition have taken a thousand euros a year from you, and they say they will relieve net wages. They say one thing, but then they do the opposite.” He added that they would not tax the richest, because this included Prime Minister Golob, President of the Republic Nataša Pirc Musar, Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković, Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič, who has made a fortune as an entrepreneur… Meanwhile, the first three had not set up some “garage businesses” that became prosperous…
Janša: Urška Klakočar Zupančič should learn more about history
The other three, meanwhile, got rich from tax write-offs. The SDS party leader believes that the government’s reform in question is really an attempt to tax those who have bought houses and flats for themselves, who have driven the economy forward by paying taxes, who have solved their housing problem, and not those who are “the richest.” “This is an attack on the prosperity of the middle class!” This is something that the SDS parliamentary group will strongly oppose. He also touched on the government’s ignorance when it comes to the question of aid to pensioners. As many as 300,000 pensioners have pensions that are too low. He believes that this is a collective injustice that has been dragged on throughout the transition.
During the Janša mandate, this pressing issue was dealt with through regular pension adjustments and bonuses to mitigate the effects of the rising prices. The Golob government should have continued with this … At a time of high inflation, we are talking not just about a 5 percent adjustment, but about 15 or 20 percent. Janša also touched on the government’s measures to control the prices of food, which have not been successful. In a market economy, things cannot be carried out in the way that the current government has imagined it would carry them out. The companies that carried out the controls are the only ones who actually made money from this.
The five per cent rise in pensions was, in Janša’s view, a drop in the ocean, and the government should be alleviating the pensioners’ difficult financial situation by means of special allowances. The SDS parliamentary group is prepared to support effective, good government proposals. Towards the end of the press conference, Janša also recalled the recent cynical statement made by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, about the “erased”. He said that there had been cases where injustice had actually happened because individuals had not been properly informed. However, there were even more who had all the conditions for regularising their citizenship but did not believe in Slovenia. It is cynical that those who have a pension of 500 euros would now have to pay for some of the “erased” who left Slovenia and did not believe in the new state and independence.
Janša thus advised Klakočar Zupančič to learn more about our history. He also pointed out that during her speech at the National Assembly, she had forgotten to mention a key event – the publication of the 57th issue of the magazine “Nova Revija”. He noted that the personnel changes at the Ministry of the Interior were politically motivated and done in order to cover up various investigations, including those related to the Gen-I energy company. Finally, he touched on the abolition of the Museum of Slovenian Independence, calling it a “traitorous act” that is ripe for the government’s interpellation. He also recalled that the Slovenian government was giving unclear or conflicting signals abroad about its position on Russia, which was a matter of concern for many foreign diplomatic missions.
Domen Mezeg
