The Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) parliamentary group has tabled two motions for consultative referendums in recent days, one on the confidence in the work of the Golob government and the other on the construction of new asylum homes, said MP Jelka Godec, leader of the SDS party parliamentary group. “Are you in favour of the government of the Republic of Slovenia, led by Robert Golob, concluding its work and subsequently calling early elections?”
“The immune system of the government led by the top manager Robert Golob is severely weakened, in fact not only severely weakened, but also permanently damaged,” said the leader of the SDS party parliamentary group, MP Jelka Godec, at the SDS party’s press conference, adding that the people have also realised this, as shown by the latest opinion polls, namely, “support for the government of Robert Golob is the lowest it has ever been for any of the governments”.
Among the reasons for the SDS party’s decision to propose a referendum on the government, MP Godec cited, among others, the poor economic climate and the lack of measures and attentiveness in Slovenia to help and support the economy. “Given that this government has been adopting certain changes to tax legislation from the very beginning, it has only worsened the situation of both the economy and the citizens themselves,” she said, pointing to the warnings of economists who have predicted that 62 percent of companies will emigrate to other countries where the conditions are more favourable. This would mean there would be 15,000 fewer jobs available to us, as well as 100 million less in social contributions, 30 million less in income tax, and 15 million less in income taxes. She also pointed out that the economy in Europe is cooling, and in spite of this, in Slovenia, there are no measures to help the economy and preserve jobs.
Not only have they caused damage to the economy but also to healthcare
“Healthcare is the sector that is the most tangible for the citizens, and the government has failed to deliver on last year’s promises. Today, it is shifting the focus from itself to doctors and patients.” MP Godec also mentioned the agricultural sector, as well as the warnings coming from the farmers that farmland is being deforested and farmers are being burdened with additional taxes and even more red tape. She cited corruption, the police sector and the purges demanded by Golob as one of the reasons for the proposed referendum. She also touched on the post-flood reconstruction and the slowness of action.
“All these unfulfilled promises are putting Slovenia in a situation where it is no longer competitive on the European market, where the coalition in the Slovenian National Assembly is passing laws that are detrimental to the Slovenian nation and the country. If the government continues with its work, its support will probably drop to 0 percent, but by then, it will be too late for the country of Slovenia,” said MP Godec.
Citizens should decide on asylum homes
The largest opposition party, SDS, is also proposing to call a referendum on migrant accommodation in Slovenia before the June European elections. At the end of February, the government of Robert Golob decided by a decree to establish two branches of the asylum centre in the area of the former border crossing points Obrežje and Središče ob Dravi for the accommodation of applicants for international protection. The SDS party is strongly opposed to this, and would ask citizens in a referendum whether they are in favour of not building new asylum centres and their branches in Slovenia to accommodate what they consider to be illegal migrants. “We are witnessing many illegal border crossings in Slovenia,” pointed out MP Andrej Kosi, who added a worrying figure: according to unofficial data, 7,800 migrants have crossed the border illegally this year alone. He pointed out that illegal crossings are also a problem for other European countries, which are consequently struggling with rising crime rates.
“In Slovenia, we are also facing an increase in the number of crimes, especially in the Ljubljana area, and particularly in the area of the Ljubljana-Vič police station, where the asylum centre is located, and in the centre of Ljubljana itself, where the other branch is located. Official police data show that the increased security risk is due to the concentration of asylum seekers,” MP Kosi said.
Last week, the SDS party parliamentary group also tabled an amendment to the Local Self-Government Act, which requires the consent of the local community for the establishment of asylum centre branches. In the first two months of this year, the Slovenian police have noticed an increase in illegal crossings of the state border. In this period, 6,415 illegal border crossings were dealt with, compared to 5,234 at the same time last year. Police data show a marked increase in the number of arrivals of Syrian nationals, followed by Moroccan and Afghan nationals.
MP Godec: we are putting forward the citizens’ proposals
Asked by a journalist whether they thought it “makes sense” to initiate consultative referendums, MP Godec clearly replied that “if not, then it does not make sense to be an MP, because it is the MPs who point out the problems of the citizens, and they are the ones who put forward the proposals that come from the citizens”.
T. B.
