The Democrats party (Demokrati), led by Anže Logar, has once again attracted attention with its latest new member, Ljubljana City Councillor Katja Damij, a former candidate at the elections to the European Parliament on the List of Marjan Šarec (LMŠ). Damij, who is also a tax debtor, is another in a long line of people who have brought a strong left-wing background to the Democrats party.
The Democrats have recently been joined by individuals with a strong left-wing political background, which is not unusual given that Anže Logar is said to have met on several occasions with Milan Kučan, who is opposed to the concept of a grand coalition and cooperation between the left and the right. Nevertheless, the Democrats still emphasise “cooperation”. “We are delighted that Ljubljana City Councillor Katja Damij has joined the Democrats’ team. We get to our common goal faster when we work together. This is the path the Democrats have chosen.”
But who is Katja Damij? Damij was an unsuccessful candidate in the elections to the National Assembly on the List of Marjan Šarec in the Ljubljana – Bežigrad constituency, and she also stood for the European Parliament, but was soon removed from the list. She is also a co-owner and director of several companies, but her reputation as an entrepreneur is tarnished.
According to the media outlet Požareport, she is on the list of tax debtors and among the companies with blocked accounts. Her company, Lartis d.o.o., which is registered for business consultancy, bread baking and perfume production, was even called Temna luna 44 d.o.o. in the past, which shows the wide range of her business interests.
Left-leaning members are becoming the norm
Damij is not the first person from the left-wing part of the political sphere to join the Democrats. When the party was founded, the presence of Jernej Pikalo, a former minister and prominent member of the Social Democrats (Socialni demokrati – SD), who is now one of the party’s key members, came as a surprise. Logar’s cooperation with Pikalo raised eyebrows even at the time of the founding, as the former Minister of Foreign Affairs was known to have been critical of Pikalo in the past.
Logar’s moves make it increasingly clear that the Democrats are not hiding their links to the centre-left political option. Critics note that their programme is written in the style of former quasi-liberal parties such as the Modern Centre Party (Stranka modernega centra – SMC) and the List of Marjan Šarec – LMŠ. Some even describe them as a new attempt at mild Slovenian socialism.
The party’s direction is also indicated by Dejan Kaloh‘s information that Logar met at least once with the former President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia. “That is true. Logar met with Milan Kučan at least once in person in the autumn of this year.” Many see Logar as the next face of Milan Kučan. Mojca Škrinjar, an MP of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), wrote on the social network X: “Logar is Kučan’s new face for undecided voters. Kučan notes that people are fed up with the crazy Left (Levica) and its subcontractor, the Social Democrats. Logar, with the advantage of fewer years than Janša, is the perfect choice for the disappointed former voters of the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda).”
Even members of the social media X were unhappy with Logar’s choice of left-wing cadre – in this case, Katja Damij. “I suppose she will be in charge of finances … Oh, she is already in debt …,” “The Democrats are picking up what they can. This is the new Freedom Movement,” and “This is that famous middle, huh?” are just some of the criticisms that can be read online.
A.G
