As the number of infections with covid-19 increases, there is also increased pressure on hospitals. Robert Carotta, the coordinator for covid hospital beds, says that the experts are also thinking about whether they will have to send covid patients abroad for treatment, following the example of some other European countries. Slovenia currently has 590 available beds in the ordinary covid wards and 180 in the intensive care unit. While the maximum capacity of intensive care beds is limited to 191, the maximum capacity for ordinary covid beds is the same as in the spring wave of the epidemic – around 1200. University Medical Centres warn that they are approaching capacity. However, the expert advisory group proposed to the government to tighten the measures, but not to close down public life in the country. We held a discussion for representatives of the coalition and the constructive opposition regarding the question of why we are reaching such critical numbers again after such a deadly second wave.
Leader of the SDS parliamentary group, Danijel Krivec, said regarding the accusations about declaring an epidemic that it would be an unwise thing to do at the moment, in terms of economic recovery, as well as some other aspects. “The fact is that all neighbouring countries are trying to come out of this crisis, and we also adapted to the European community and our surroundings in the past. Given that the EU as a whole is recovering quite well from the covid situation, closing our space would not be wise nor useful. It would probably also be harmful,” he believes.
According to Krivec, we need to ask ourselves why our results are this bad, improve the measures that are already in force, and thus get out of this situation that we are currently experiencing. Without measures to ensure that people respect what the medical experts prescribe, closure would also fail, he believes. “If people do not adhere even to the most basic measures, there is no guarantee that they will adhere to stricter measures. Perhaps the problem with us is that in the first covid crisis, we did not experience so many deaths and such shocks as some other countries, which are now doing quite well in their fight against the epidemic and strictly follow the instructions. They also have certain complaints about their governments, but nobody is questioning the medical experts.” However, in our country, this has become an entirely political issue, Krivec said. The experts are being placed on the left or right political pole, even though we know that when we get sick, we always go to the doctor and do not wonder about the doctor’s political opinions. “In Slovenia, this is being pushed to the forefront, and that is also why we are losing this battle,” he was critical.
The political space sees this epidemic as a political battlefield
Leader of the SMC parliamentary group, Gregor Perič, talked about the statements of certain members of the opposition, who say that opposing the RVT (recovered, vaccinated, tested) condition and the epidemiological measures is actually a sign of opposing the current coalition. Perič expressed regret that the political space sees this epidemic as a political battlefield and that we had managed to get so divided regarding this topic as well. “During the first wave of the epidemic, many people were scared. As someone from the coastal region of our country, I must say that even before the epidemic spread to our country, we were all closely monitoring the serious situation in neighbouring Italy. Even though we knew very little about the virus, we followed the basic steps and were successful. We could also achieve that in the current situation with the measures currently in place – along with vaccination, these measures can help us get out of this situation sooner.”
Speaking about the constructiveness of the opposition, Perič said he could not really compliment the opposition on its actions. Namely, they opposed absolutely every measure, they relativised everything; they always searched for inconsistencies and shortcomings. “We know that when you have to react quickly, you also make mistakes. Globally, we have all learned what works and what does not, and to use such a serious situation for a political fight, which is also reflected in people’s health and unnecessary deaths, is extremely irresponsible. I think that in the last few days, the opposition has also realised that this is not the right path, and they pulled back a bit. The responsibility is on each of us to carry out our civic responsibility. It does not make sense to refer to this or that administrative measure. We all know what we need to do to get out of this situation.”
Some time ago, NSi president Matej Tonin hinted that the party would be willing to talk about early elections after the end of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, under certain conditions (one of them being the beginning of non-aggression by the opposition). NSi MP Blaž Pavlin said that he personally had a hard time believing something like that was possible with the current opposition. “I think we will simply have the regular elections in late April, early May. But every election undoubtedly shuffles the cards in an entirely new way, and then the situation and relations in parliament change.”
The leader of the SNS party Zmago Jelinčič initially stated that a specific paradox was happening in Slovenia when it comes to the behaviour of the left-wing opposition. Most of the people who are hospitalised have not been vaccinated. “These people did not get vaccinated, but then they went to the hospital. One cannot help but wonder what they are doing in the hospital if they did not want to get vaccinated. That is the main thing. Such people should not be given a place in the hospital, but instead, we should accept those who complied with all the measures that were prescribed by the government. The measures are logical, and from the pharmaceutical point of view, they are correct. We do not have a better solution for now. Anyone who does not want to get vaccinated but then falls ill and has to go to the hospital should bear at least part of the cost of treatment – instead of the entire burden of such a person winding up in the hospital falling on the shoulders of those who respected the measures. However, it is true that most patients in hospitals are not Slovenes, who refuse to get vaccinated, or they are walking around with forged documents.” He believes that the country should intervene and introduce stricter control of the vaccination certificates.
Nobody respects the authorities anymore
When asked whether the government should reintroduce free rapid tests, Krivec said that any measure that the experts would assess as helpful in reducing the number of infections or limiting the epidemic would be considered a sensible measure. But first, we need to start strictly checking the RVT condition and ensure that it is actually being properly respected at certain mass events, as well as bars, public and private facilities, factories, and so on. “I do not know why us Slovenians always have to be so stubborn and why we have to experience a certain bitterness for ourselves before we actually start following the measures. It is becoming clear that older nations with a longer democratic tradition understand that certain things are important even if they are not entirely in line with human rights that people set up for themselves. This priority depends not only on the individual but on society itself. I hope that, as a society, we will begin to understand this and also put it in practice, which is what is needed right now.”
Perič believes that as we are solving the pandemic situation, we have found ourselves in a sort of psychological crisis. In every situation comparable to this one, it seems as if we are in a war. Whether we want to admit it or not. “The only difference is that we do not see the enemy, but it is causing us a lot of damage, a lot of problems, and creating a lot of casualties. We can solve any such situation by unifying and showing solidarity and following simple measures. I am worried about the trend in Slovenia, of no one in Slovenia being recognised as an authority anymore. Not the President of the Republic, not the experts. In the end, we question everything and become the sole judges of what will work and what won’t.” According to Perič, this way of thinking has brought us to the current situation, but we should remain optimistic and rely on the citizens to adhere to the measures, he added. “We feel bad about those who have been following the rules the entire time. However, certain people just do not want to follow any rules whatsoever.”
Punitive policies are a problem
According to Jelinčič, it is the punitive policies that are the problem in Slovenia. Namely, inspectors are checking the RVT condition, but even when they fine someone, the fine will be overruled by the court. “This is deviance at the forefront, the deviance of the judicial and prosecutorial system. The fine must have its educational effect and also be paid. If the fine is not paid, additional sanctions should be introduced. When it comes to the control of who is vaccinated and who is not, we need to take the whole thing seriously. The inspectors themselves are saying, what does it matter if we fine someone, if the whole thing will then be overruled by the court?” We need to strictly adhere to what the government requires, Jelinčič said, and named neighbouring Italy as an example. “There were protests in Trieste, and the Constitutional Court banned such protests. In our country, the Constitutional Court is dealing with all of the marginal matters; however, they seem to be incapable of doing something that would actually benefit the state.”
Pavlin stressed that strict adherence to the RVT condition is needed in the fight against the epidemic. “Especially for the activities that were closed during the epidemic, in the winter and spring, this should be strictly required. If the RVT condition is not being respected, such premises should be closed. At the moment, the government likely won’t decide for closure of public life.” However, Pavlin reminded everyone that the closure at the time when first cases of the English variant were being detected – namely, before the Easter holidays, was effective. But he also pointed out that if we decided for closure of public life, we would be alone in our decision – other European countries (Austria, Germany, and so on) had instead decided to tighten their measures. “Eventually, they will probably switch to the RV (recovered, vaccinated) condition. I think this is the only right thing to do. We know that the Constitutional Court has suspended the implementation of certain decrees of the Communicable Diseases Act. In a separate opinion, the President of the Constitutional Court Rajko Knez wrote that if the Constitutional Court had decided on these decrees and their validity during the time when they were in force (spring of 2020), they would certainly not have repealed them because they would have had a higher constitutional value back then – protection of people’s health and lives.”
Members of the Constitutional Arch Coalition, who have not even sat down together yet, have already gotten into a fight
In light of favourable economic indicators, Perič, when asked who the people are who are protesting on Wednesdays and Fridays, said that it is difficult to explain what is bothering these people. “If we look at it from an economic perspective (in terms of standard, revenue), this is a bit difficult to understand. We need to take the psychological momentum into account, which is often created by the media. Even though we experienced the epidemic, many things also moved forward.” According to Perič, the government and the coalition work as a well-coordinated team, despite the fact that they have different worldviews, speaking in terms of ideology.
“We get together, we sit down, and find a common solution. Once we walk out the door, there are no more problems. On the other hand, we can see that the Constitutional Arch Coalition parties have not even sat down at the same table yet but are already fighting. They are bickering among themselves. I see huge potential here, that Slovenia and the current government have.” A nice example of this are municipalities, which were on a sort of “financial diet” for a long time, but now, a lot is happening at the local level. The leader of the SMC parliamentary group pointed out that in the previous government, the sessions lasted for about five minutes. “If you invest that little energy in finding solutions, then it makes sense that you will not actually find any solutions. And anyone can just make empty promises.” Comparing the two governments, Perič said that the current government has a higher level of efficiency and dialogue (talking to all stakeholders – meaning that the political affiliation of the mayors, for example, is not important to it).
Krivec pointed out that the protest began even before the new government took office. Partners of the SDS party were being pressured. Krivec believes that that was no coincidence. “The onslaught is now taking place on virtually all fronts. We should ask ourselves why. I think one of the important factors in this is the sizeable amount of money that was negotiated on the European floor.” Namely, Slovenia will receive a lot of money from the European Union in the upcoming years, which will enable its further development. And the opposition and the protesters are bothered by the fact that the current government is operational, pragmatic, and does not care about who is left and who is right. Namely, the government is trying to develop Slovenia as a whole. According to Pavlin, NSi is also satisfied with the work of the government and its ministers. “We had to pay dearly for what the left failed to implement in the field of care for the elderly in many years of its government. This coalition has already managed to provide money for the construction of five nursing homes, the number of beds for the elderly has increased, and there have been many shifts made in the field of infrastructure. We are proud of our achievements. However, due to the pompous announcements in the media regarding the protests, the government’s achievements are not being sufficiently presented in the Slovenian public,” Pavlin pointed out.
Krivec said that the Constitutional Arch Coalition parties calculate their every vote. “When secret ballots are held, deputies withdraw completely, which means that they do not even trust their own people. There have not been many manoeuvres like this in the past, which means that they are not as connected as they would like others to believe,” the leader of the SDS parliamentary group pointed out during the discussion.
Nina Žoher
