On the show “Aktualno” (Current Events), Aleksander Rant, Boris Tomašič, Jože Biščak and Metod Berlec commented on the events of the last week and also made some predictions about what might happen in 2023. They discussed the economy, healthcare, the “depoliticisation” of the national media outlet Radio-Television Slovenia, the police, and also the degradation of the role of the President of the Republic.
“The President of the Republic drew lots to determine how long the term of office of each candidate on the new Radio-Television Slovenia Programme Council would last. We also saw her getting some brunch on the occasion of the opening of the border with Croatia,” Boris Tomasič said in his opening remarks, saying that this is definitely a degradation of the office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia. “It is extremely bizarre that she, as President, is playing lotto, and the same thing applies to Croatia’s joining of the Schengen area. The Prime Minister, Robert Golob, should have been there in an official capacity, but apparently, he could not be bothered to do it during the holidays. And Pirc Musar not showing up was just another way of her downgrading the importance of her own role. At the same time, she has made it clear from the first speeches she gave that she will not be the President of all Slovenians, which is a pity. Nevertheless, it is only right to give her a chance to prove herself, even if we are critical of her. However, I fear that she will turn out to be Danilo Türk in a skirt,” Metod Berlec, editor-in-chief of the Demokracija magazine (Democracy), commented on what had happened.
Meanwhile, Tomašič believes that she has already been given opportunities to show that she is serious about her role, but since she has taken on the role, a criminal indictment has been filed by the National Bureau of Investigation due to her work at the Red Cross, and her appearance on a comedy TV show also took her even further from being a worthy representative of the office of the President of the Republic. Jože Biščak, former editor-in-chief of the Demokracija magazine, also believes that the first signs show that Nataša Pirc Musar is downgrading her position. “And if she is drawing members for the Programme Council from the list of members of non-governmental organisations, we can expect that in the future, if there are five candidates for the Constitutional Court, Slovenia will borrow a drum from the lottery, and she will also decide on the members of the Constitutional Court by drawing lottery balls.”
What did the interlocutors say about the economy?
The outlook for the economy in 2023 is not good, with a likely minimum economic growth of between 0.5 percent and 1 percent. The problem is that inflation will be high and economic growth low. In all likelihood, many economies, including our largest economic partners, will go into recession, and Slovenia with it, Biščak believes. “I am not optimistic, and the entrepreneurs are right, including Joc Pečečnik, who was viciously attacked by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Klakočar. In one paragraph, she attacked capital, profit, entrepreneurship and the economy,” said Biščak. “And then she boarded the Falcon and drove to Vienna,” added Tomašič.
What have we gained from Freedom?
“We were told that Freedom (the Freedom Movement party – Gibanje svoboda, the largest coalition party) would bring better and more targeted measures for the economy, that it would not be like the Janša government, which gave money to its citizens. And what happened? We got 40 million euros in aid for the economy twice, 40 million euros for families with children, and 40 million euros for social assistance recipients and those who receive welfare benefits,” Rant pointed out. At the same time, long-term care, the Office for Demography and a whole bunch of EU-funded projects were abolished, and the project of the third development axis was stopped, Rant added. “In addition, we gave 700 million euros in guarantees to the Gen-I energy company, 500 million euros in recapitalisation to the Slovenian Power Plants Holding, and finally, 170 million euros to the ELES energy company. How can the public believe it when the government claims it does not have 200 million euros to give – but then gives it to its friends in the energy sector without any problems. This is unbelievable,” Berlec said. Janša’s centre-right government had created a good business environment, the appropriate conditions for economic growth, had taken many measures in favour of the economy and the people, and it is unbelievable that people do not notice this, he said. “Slovenia is unfortunately,, left-leaning in terms of values. Kučan‘s pollster/opinion-maker Niko Toš conducted opinion polls a few years ago, and he found that values of around 55 percent of our citizens are left-leaning, and around 45 percent are more centre-right, and that is exactly what is reflected in the elections. We have seen in the last three referendums that arguments and facts did not count, it was all based on blind trust, as the media associated with the transitional left tell us. And we will soon see the fallout, because in these few months after the Janša government has left, its measures are still working. Unfortunately, things will get drastically worse after this stops, and people will soon feel the consequences in their own wallets.” Biščak also said that it was fascinating that Golob had already announced higher taxes and lower salaries before the elections, but nevertheless, people still voted for him.
The prices of basic necessities for life have gone way up, the pensions will go down again in January, the energy prices have gone up, and support for Golob is not going down, so what is the problem, Tomašič further wondered. “This is an interesting sociological phenomenon in Slovenia. There is also an anti-capitalist, anti-business atmosphere present here, and that is why people react the way they do,” said Biščak.
Medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of the Slovenian economy, have been forgotten by the state in its allocation of aid. And it is a wonder that their representatives are not more vocal, said Berlec. “We are witnessing strange phenomena that are specific only to our society, while others are overtaking us, for example, the Czechs, the Slovaks.” Biščak also said that he believes that what medium and small businesses want above all is to be left alone by the state, to be able to work and create and to have a predictable environment. At the moment, however, the environment is unstable and unpredictable, which is why there are no foreign investors.
Cultural Marxism has attacked traditional values
The interlocutors on the show Aktualno also discussed how we as a nation have fallen deeply into cultural Marxism, which has attacked traditional values. “But it is precisely these values that are the basis for Western civilisation, which has been glorious. Unless something happens, we will only be going further downhill,” warned Biščak. The cultural Marxists’ tactic was that instead of going out into the streets to create revolutions, they decided to slowly break into the institutions and introduce their Marxist ideas from there. You can learn more about this if you watch the recent episode of the show.
Freedom is just a recycled water referendum
“People do not like to believe in conspiracy theories, they do not like to believe that there is a plan that runs above them. But let’s remember, before the elections, there was a water referendum, and the slogan was Freedom Blue and White, and a year later, we just got a recycling of the same slogan, with the same message and the same percentage of turnout for Golob,” Rant noted. This referendum was just a test of whether Slovenians had come far enough to notice anything. If you can convince a Slovenian that drinking water is under threat, even though there is drinking water at every turn, then you have succeeded, and you can put anyone in power, Tomašič said.
Sara Kovač
