The government of Robert Golob is convinced that Slovenia’s defence capabilities could also be strengthened with the purchase of a new Falcon jet aircraft. The latter is not a military aircraft, and there are legitimate speculations that the purchase is part of a plan by the Golob government to antagonise its NATO allies and present the investment in the aircraft as a defence expenditure.
However, even with the purchase of the aircraft, it is not yet clear whether Slovenia will reach the promised level of annual defence spending, which is currently still two percent of GDP. While Slovenia is not even close to the promised investment, a new consensus among the allies is likely to emerge in the near future, which will increase the required investment even further.
Last year, Slovenia invested 1.35 percent of GDP, or 904.7 million euros in defence. This year, the contribution will increase slightly to 1.2 billion euros. But to spend the promised 2 percent, Slovenia would need to spend 300 million euros more on defence than it does today.
The transitional left intends to bend the rules of the Allies
And this is where the problem lies. The government of Robert Golob is made up of three left-wing parties, which are following the tradition of the transitional left, which sees one of the key state-building systems of the country, the defence system, as the antithesis of its political doctrine. It is not surprising, therefore, that when the European Union countries announced that there would have to be an increase in defence expenditure, they invented a security doctrine that includes investments in security expenditure that have no direct link to improving the defence capabilities of our country. The representatives of the Left party (Levica) have been the most honest when it comes to this issue. For example, MP Matej T. Vatovec publicly announced that when it comes to EU-level commitments on defence investments, we should “bend the rules”.
The idea of buying a new Falcon aircraft is more than obviously part of a strategy of bending the rules of the European Union and NATO. Defence Minister Borut Sajovic tried to justify the purchase by saying that it would increase Slovenia’s airworthiness and capacity. The aircraft is said to be needed to increase capacity in the field of organ transplants. It is not entirely clear why a luxury private passenger aircraft would be needed to transport the organs. As editor and journalist Peter Jančič wittily remarked, “It is strange, however, that other much larger and more affluent clinical centres around the world do not have their own fleets of business jet Falcons with leather seats and super-modern VIP transport equipment to carry organs for transplantation.”
Organ transplants or transplanting politicians to exotic locations?
The real motivation for buying a new Falcon aircraft probably comes from elsewhere and is not actually about increasing altruistic capacity in the field of organ transplantation. In response to the question of what could be behind the purchase this time, besides bending the rules of the allies, the President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Janez Janša, wrote on social media: “Mrs Prime Minister’s obviously wanted a new Falcon. And suddenly, this will be a key investment for the Slovenian Armed Forces. We will be able to get to Mallorca quicker. When the first Falcon was bought by the wounded Liberal Democracy of Slovenia party (Liberalna demokracija Slovenije – LDS), people were sold the fairy tale about the aircraft being used to transport the wounded. Now it’s about transporting organs.”
The government’s Falcon aircraft has been the subject of much controversy in the past. Opinions have been expressed on whether a dedicated government aircraft is even necessary, as well as on the abuse of its capacity for private purposes, as we saw in the case of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, who used the Falcon we already own to go to a New Year’s concert in Vienna, where she was invited by the former President of the Austrian Parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka.
The Slovenian Armed Forces have primary needs that do not include a new Falcon
At this point, it is worth mentioning that the Slovenian Armed Forces have severe shortages in military equipment. For example, in the area of logistics capabilities and air defence, and in the past, the public has been informed of shocking rumours that even the basic equipment of individual soldiers is lacking. Slovenia has still not bought armoured vehicles on the basis of which it could form a medium battalion group and a reconnaissance battalion. The purchase of Boxer armoured vehicles, for example, was cancelled by the current coalition almost immediately after it swept to power in 2022. 106 8×8 armoured vehicles are now planned for purchase, but it seems that even this purchase is not yet close to materialising.
Ž. K.
