Member of Parliament Lena Grgurevič has become a symbol of the brutality, callousness and ignorance of the politics of the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda). The political terror patented by the latest incarnation of the new faces has no precedent in Slovenian politics. At almost every hearing where Grgurevič is the Chair or member of a committee, she makes a “scene,” which is then dutifully recorded by the television cameras for the evening news, so that the far-leftists can applaud her for “destroying the Janšaists.” This also happened at Wednesday’s meeting of the National Assembly’s Justice Committee, where the so-called “lex Jaklič” was being discussed.
It should be noted that the head of the Legislative and Legal Service completely rejected the so-called lex Jaklič, an ad hoc law with which the coalition majority wanted to punish the disobedient Constitutional Court judge Klemen Jaklič for carrying out an activity permitted under the Constitutional Court Act, which they would like to make impossible for him under the new law. At the meeting, MP Lena Grgurevič once again provided a real “show”.
MP Andrej Hoivik took issue with an observation made by the Freedom Movement MP Andrea Živic, who said that the opinion of the Legislative and Legal Service was written in an emotional tone. MP Hoivik calmly pointed out that “This is not only an attack on the Constitutional Court, this law, but also an attack on the Legislative and Legal service of the National Assembly. /…/ This is shameful! A double disgrace.” He also added that “such pressures as are being exerted on the Legislative and Legal Service during this term are a breakdown of democracy, not democracy in the country, but democracy in this Parliament, and they are also dismantling respect for the norms of this Parliament.” After MP Hoivik’s speech followed a real outburst by MP Grgurevič, who started to insult MP Hoivik as if they were caught up in a bar fight.
“Colleague, wait a minute, I’m interrupting you now, calm down a bit…” began the MP in the style of a bad-tempered barmaid lecturing a drunken guest. “So that we don’t start a debate about not only the Legislative and Legal Service, but also the judiciary – you Slovenian Democratic Party members (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) are going to talk about pressure on the Legislative and Legal Service, because my colleague said she found it emotionally written? Well, you are ridiculous, let’s go and discuss your attacks on the judiciary, really, stick to the subject and stop talking when I don’t give you a subject!”
When Hoivik objected a second time to the way the Chairwoman was conducting the meeting, Grgurevič gave him a second reprimand and threatened to cut him off, and she followed through on her threat, whereupon he wanted a vote on her actions.
However, Grgurevič stood her ground: “I gave you one reprimand, I gave you another reprimand, you didn’t want to stop, you insisted on your points, you wanted to insult, and you lied on air, so I will also propose other procedures against you in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Members of Parliament, because what you are allowing yourselves to do is simply too much, isn’t it?! So, you are lying on television and insulting the Speaker of the National Assembly, and I am now putting to the vote a motion to cut the Member of Parliament off.” To her shame, the motion was not passed, and Hoivik continued with the debate.
However, it is clear to experienced observers of the National Assembly committees that such drastic measures as cutting someone off rarely happen in the palace of democracy, and what is more, they were practically non-existent before the current government, regardless of who was in power. Now, however, things are different.
The Chairwoman of the Committee was chatting with a colleague instead of listening to the MPs
SDS MP Jože Tanko was particularly bothered by the fact that the Chairwoman of the Committee, MP Grgurevič, and the Speaker of the National Assembly did not listen to him during his speech, because at one point, they started whispering quietly. “Well, thank you both for your courtesy – to the Chairwoman and to the Speaker of the National Assembly.” The Chairwoman replied to Tanko that he should not be bothered by what was going on. “I don’t need to listen to you, and we are absolutely not disturbing you, because we are whispering. Given that you are here laughing and giggling all the time, and even shouting sometimes, it is okay if we are whispering,” replied Chairwoman Grgurevič, to which Tanko replied that she had given warnings about what she thought was in breach of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.
“No, no one has been reprimanded because of something like this,” insisted the Chairwoman, asking Tanko to continue the debate calmly. “If I am not interested in your debate or your opinion, I don’t need to listen to you. Please, go ahead,” insisted Grgurevič, whereupon Tanko added: “Then how will you conduct the sitting? From the point of view of running a meeting, the Chair must listen.” To this, the Chairwoman replied that she could still do that. “I can also hear if there is something wrong while you speak. I hear that you are interrupting the debate, but that is your problem. Just be quiet if you have nothing to say. Although, really, I should have cut you off. Go on, discuss,” she then added.
“If the Chairwoman, Lena Grgurevič, does not want to listen to the debate in the National Assembly’s Committee on Justice, how can she possibly chair the Committee impartially and responsibly? If the opinions of the elected representatives of the people are irrelevant to her, what kind of signal does that send to democracy?” members of the SDS party parliamentary group wondered.
I. K.
