Politics
STA, 11 June 2020 - Public gatherings of up to 500 people, including at sports events, will be allowed in Slovenia as of next Monday, while the government has also decided to lift restrictions on international public road and railway transport, the government's spokesperson for the coronavirus crisis Jelko Kacin said on Thursday.
Announcing the decision, Kacin told the press that the protective recommendations of the National Institute for public health would continue to apply.
Two new coronavirus cases confirmed out of 702 tests conducted in Slovenia yesterday
The government's press release speaks of a return of visitors to sports events and of public gatherings of up to 500 people, up from the current threshold of 200.
Kacin said that this number also included athletes, organisers, media representatives, support personnel etc., meaning the number of visitors allowed at sports events would be well below 500.
While this decision will become effective on 15 June, the government also announced a lifting of the ban on international public road and railway transport, effective a day after publication in the Official Gazette.
"This means we can expect bus transport, tourism transport starting, tourist groups can come," Kacin said. He added things would first need to be coordinated with other countries so that safety regimes are uniform.
STA, 11 June 2020 - The Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and Defence Minister Matej Tonin came under significant pressure in Thursday, a day after it transpired that soldiers likely had been involved in an incident on the border with Italy despite initial indications to the contrary. Responding to demands for clarification, SAF vowed to help investigate the matter.
After initial reports that the incident happened on 8 May, the SAF said there had been no soldiers in the area that day, while Tonin labelled the report fake news.
In late May, the newspaper Primorski Dnevnik reported that a civilian was stopped at gunpoint by two Slovenian soldiers on the Slovenian-Italian border near Trieste the previous week.
SAF press officer Colonel Marjan Sirk told the press today that the SAF had looked into the movements of all patrols in the week specified but later also on 8 May, the date subsequently provided to the SAF by the journalist who wrote the piece.
Looking into the whereabouts of troops on 8 May, the SAF reported that no military patrols had been in the area that day.
But commercial broadcaster POP TV reported yesterday that the police investigation, which had been launched, had found the incident took place a day earlier and that the man who was stopped at gunpoint had identified the two men who stopped him in photographs.
According to unofficial sources, the police force had taken recorded soldiers when they reported for duty.
The investigation has since been picked up by the Defence Ministry's Intelligence and Security Service (OVS) because there had been Slovenian troops in the area on 7 May.
Before Sirk took questions from reporters, the Chief of the General Staff Brigadier General Robert Glavaš gave a statement ensuring that the military will cooperate in the investigation as it wants to determine what happened.
"It is in the interest of all of us, and above all in the interest of the military, that this event be investigated. We do not allow misuse of powers. Any anomaly must be sanctioned," said Glavaš.
Glavaš also expressed surprise that an inter-ministerial task force had not been formed in the wake of the incident. The relevant government decree on military's assistance to the police on the border stipulates that the ministries of interior and defence form a special task force in case of violations.
He also said that the military had been assisting the police in border controls since 2015, having carried out a total of 110,000 patrols along the border and this being the only such incident to date.
When asked why had soldiers been assisting the police on the Italian border, not the one with Croatia, where illegal migrants enter the country, Sirk said this was a question for the police, because the military only followed orders by police in this capacity.
He also said that soldiers were obligated to report on encounters to their superiors, but not on all encounters. He said no official report about such an incident had been made, and no information about this had reached the HQ in Ljubljana.
When asked about the use of weapons by the troops helping the police control the border, Sirk said that soldiers were allowed to use force and that this would have depended on their assessment of the situation. After all, civilians are allowed to use force in self-defence as well, he said.
The 32-year-old civilian told Primorski Dnevnik that he was stopped by two Slovenian soldiers while taking a walk with his girlfriend near the border in the woods above the Glinščiva Valley (Val Rosandra).
He also said that they let him go, when they realised he spoke Slovenian and had told him they were patrolling the area for illegal migrants.
Today, all parliamentary parties have expressed expectation that the incident be investigated and that Tonin provide clarifications.
While coalition parties expressed confidence that Tonin would be able to provide clarifications, the opposition was more critical, with the Left's MP Matej T. Vatovec that this was a "massive international incident without comparison".
The party also accused Tonin of trying to cover it up when he said that the Primorski Dnevnik report was fake news. Vatovec also indicated that Tonin may face an ouster motion over this.
Earlier today, Tonin met with President Borut Pahor, the supreme commander of the SAF, with the latter tweeting that he expected a thorough written report about the incident.
Last night, Tonin appeared in the late news show Odmevi. When asked whether he considered resigning, Tonin said that more than 6,000 people worked in defence. "If the minister would have to take responsibility for each mistake they make, we'd soon run out of ministers."
STA, 11 June 2020 - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša has hit back at European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni following his appeal for explanation over the dismissal of the Statistics Office's director by suggesting he was playing a political game for the Slovenian left.
"I didn't receive your letter, but press did," Janša tweeted after the STA reported yesterday that Gentiloni sent a letter to Janša asking him to explain the replacement of the head of the Slovenia's Statistics Office.
Mr. @PaoloGentiloni, I didn’t receive your letter, but press did. @govSlovenia replaced a political appointee as Statistics Office head with an expert with 30 y of experience in this Office. Hope this is the last time you play a political game for Slovenian left. @vonderleyen https://t.co/qFzkzVgXks
— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) June 11, 2020
"@govSlovenia replaced a political appointee as Statistics Office head with an expert with 30 y of experience in this Office. Hope this is the last time you play a political game for Slovenian left," Janša added in his tweet, which he also tagged to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president.
Asked by the STA for its response to Janša's tweet, the European Commission's press service said Gentiloni's letter was transmitted by email to Slovenia's Permanent Representation to the EU at 17:52 on Tuesday, 9 June, for onward transmission to the prime minister.
"Addressing the letter to Prime Minister Janša via the Permanent Representation is in line with standard practice," said a commission spokesperson.
The Commission said yesterday that Gentiloni addressed a letter to Janša on Tuesday to request "some clarifications concerning the recent replacement of the Director-General of the State Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia".
Asked about what prompted the letter, the Commission said it "is committed to ensuring that the principles of impartiality and professional independence of national statistical authorities as laid down in EU legislation are fully respected".
Janša's tweet invited response from several Slovenian MEPs, including Tanja Fajon, the acting leader of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), who tweeted: "Janša's response is indecent: when there's no arguments, attack and denigration. This government has damaged Slovenia's reputation."
Ni verodostojne informacije brez verodostojnih podatkov. Komisar Gentiloni zahteva pojasnila, ker je menjava na čelu SURS nov znak suspenza demokracije v Sloveniji. Janšev odgovor je nedostojen: ko ni argumentov, napad in blatenje. Ta vlada je uničila ugled Slovenije v EU. https://t.co/vcQHGxTx4k
— Tanja Fajon (@tfajon) June 11, 2020
Tagging a retweet of her earlier tweet about Gentilioni's letter, Janša had also taken aim at SD staff: "Slobbering in Brussels, biting at home (...) bowing to those above, pressing those under".
Romana Tomc, a MEP for Janša's Democratic Party (EPP/SDS), joined the back and forth on Twitter by supporting the prime minister in a tweet saying that Gentiloni's move was obviously politically-motivated, and ignited by political players.
Poteza @PaoloGentiloni je zelo očitno politično motivirana, podžigajo jo slovenski akterji. Skrajno čudno je tudi to, da komisar dopusti, da javnost za dopis izve prej kot naslovnik. @vladaRS nikakor ne sme pristati na tak način delovanja @EU_Commission
— RomanaTomc (@RomanaTomc) June 11, 2020
"It's utterly odd that the commissioner should have let the public learn about the letter sooner than the addressee. The government must in no way agree to such a mode of operation by the European Commission," Tomc tweeted.
MEP Irena Joveva (Renew/LMŠ) tweeted that Janša replaced the Statistics Office's director for the first time in Slovenia's history, adding that his accusing Gentiloni "sounds familiar".
Echoing the sentiment expressed by Fajon, Milan Brglez (S&D/SD) described Janša's tweet as indecent. "After a series of foreign policy 'mistakes' now indecent behaviour by Janez Janša. Following the principle 'what can they do about it anyway'. Quo vadis, Slovenia."
The government dismissed Bojan Nastav as director of the Statistics Office in late May, appointing Tomaž Smrekar as acting director for up to six months until a new director is named.
In response, the Statistics Council, an expert advisory body, has asked the Constitutional Court to review the dismissal after obtaining a legal opinion that found the government invoked a wrong piece of legislation for the dismissal.
Janša said in late May that Nastav's replacement was necessary "due to responsiveness". "This is about a body functioning in a professional fashion, being responsive, so that we can rely on getting data tomorrow if we need it."
STA, 10 June 2020 - European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni has addressed a letter to Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Janša, asking him to explain the changes at the helm of Slovenia's Statistics Office, the Commission's press service confirmed for the STA on Wednesday.
The letter was sent to Janša yesterday with the aim to provide complete compliance with the principles of impartiality and professional independence of national statistics offices, the press service said.
The move comes after the government dismissed in late May director general of the Statistics Office Bojan Nastav and appointed Tomaž Smrekar acting director general. The latter will serve until a full-fledged director is appointed but no longer than six months.
Related: Was the Director of Slovenia’s Statistical Office Dismissed for Following the Law?
Earlier this month, the Statistics Council, an expert advisory body, asked the Constitutional Court to review the dismissal of Nastav.
The council is not sure which law applies in this case - the one on public sector employees, which allows the government to dismiss a top public sector employee a year after the employee started their job, or the national statistics act.
Janša said in late May that the dismissal of Nastav was necessary "due to responsiveness". "This is about a body functioning in a professional fashion, being responsive, so that we can rely on getting data tomorrow if we need it."
SURS has a great website, in English, here
On May 21 2020 the Slovenian Government dismissed the director of the Statistical Office (SURS) Bojan Nastav, who was appointed for a five-year term in August last year. The decision took effect the next day and the acting director for a period of six months became Tomaž Smrekar. The media now reports the reason for replacement of the head of SURS was his refusal to submit confidential information to a non-authorised body of external government advisors in an unorthodox way.
Following his dismissal, Bojan Nastav told RTV Slovenia he had learnt about the decision from the government website’s session’s minutes, and that he was not familiar with the reasons for his firing.
The new acting director, Tomaž Smrekar, who began working immediately after Bojan Nastav was dismissed, explaining to RTV Slovenia that it was impossible for the around 300 SURS employees to properly analyze all the data, and that help will be needed from the government’s advisory group, headed by Matej Lahkovnik.
The Statistical Council of SURS demanded the government to present the reasons for the replacement of the head of the agency, and the government replied citing Article 83 of the Public Employees Act, which allows public officials to be dismissed within the first year of their office.
The Statistical Council then asked for another opinion from the attorney Rajko Pirnat, who claims that the head of SURS is not covered by this law, but rather under the jurisdiction of the National Statistics Act. For this reason, the Statistical Council has issued a request that the Constitutional Court decide which of the two laws applies in this case.
According news portal Necenzurirano.si, Nastav was dismissed on a request of Lahovnik’s advisory group, which approached SURS with a request for raw economic data. SURS then replied that the data can be accessed under certain circumstances prescribed by the relevant legislation. Access to the SURS database for research purposes is only allowed with prior approval, in a safe room and only after employees have anonymized the data - covering up names and other identifying data of specific companies, since SURS is obliged to protect statistical confidentiality.
Furthermore, reports necenzurirano.si, the Lahovnik’s advisory group is functioning as an informal association, which works pro bono and without any legal grounds for its activities. Its members are not responsible to anyone and therefore also not obliged to protect the data that they obtain from state bodies. Its members work for private companies and boards, which could use such data for their personal gain.
Because Nastav didn’t seem to respond to the group’s request, concludes Necenzurirano.si, Lahovnik called Prime Minister Janez Janša and Nastav was immediately replaced.
Since its inception the current Janša government has replaced most of the heads of the state security apparatus, including heads of the police and the army, National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Police, and Office of the Republic of Slovenia for the Prevention of Money Laundering. The head of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA), however stepped down on his own after Janša’s government excluded SOVA from the National Security Council.
According to Mladina, several of these heads were removed in order to stop investigations into the financing of Janez Janša’s SDS party.
STA, 9 June 2020 - China and Slovenia have had good relations in all fields. As Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing told the STA, a new opportunity to deepen the relations will be the 17+1 initiative summit in Beijing, which has been moved to the second half of the year due to the pandemic. Wang hopes Slovenia will be pragmatic in picking 5G technology.
In an interview conducted last weekend, Wang said that the exact date of the 17+1 summit was not known yet. When the date is known, the ambassador expects information about Slovenia's participation.
Slovenia's participation had already been announced by former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, but Wang has not had the opportunity to speak about this with representatives of the current government due to the coronavirus epidemic. The ambassador has only met with Economic Development and Technology Minister Zdravko Počivalšek.
Wang expects that the good bilateral relations between China and Slovenia, which were confirmed by the visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi last December, will continue also with the government of Janez Janša taking over.
China is the most important trade partner to Slovenia in Asia, and Slovenia is the most important partner to China in the Western Balkan region, he said. "It is true that Slovenia records a trade deficit with China, but the countries are striving to balance the trade," Wang added.
According to the ambassador, China uses various platforms to promote Slovenian products. One of them is the China International Import Expo fair in Shanghai, where Slovenian companies get invited every year.
The Chinese state and local authorities provide all necessary support for Slovenian investments in China, among which Wang singled out the investments by the ultralight aircraft maker Pipistrel.
As for Chinese investments in Slovenia, the ambassador noted the takeover of the household appliance maker Gorenje by Hisense two years ago. "The Hisense investment is currently the most important Chinese investment in Slovenia," he said, adding that China supported Hisense in its further expansion and investments in Slovenia.
Wang is concerned about the announced lay-offs in Gorenje. "Lay-offs in companies, although they are part of the business, are always very sensitive, but it is not unusual that something like this takes place during the pandemic," he said.
The ambassador has been in constant touch with the management of Hisense Gorenje lately. It was explained to him that the lay-offs are a consequence of the new coronavirus pandemic, which has reduced orders considerably, and of a low efficiency in comparison to competitors in the industry, an issue Gorenje has been facing for quite a while.
"Measures should be made to make the company competitive. This needs to be our common goal," he said. In talks with the management of Hisense Gorenje, Wang said that lay-offs should be carried out carefully and gradually, and in accordance with the Slovenian legislation.
Wang is convinced that the management will make a lot of effort to this end as, after all, it has reduced the planned number of lay-offs, which it will try to carry out using soft methods as much as possible.
Wang stressed that - the company donated protective medical equipment to Slovenia at the end of March - has a long-term interest in Slovenia. "Cooperation with Hisense and Gorenje is strategic," he said, noting that Hisense had picked Slovenia for its seat of European operations. In this light, he also mentioned Hisense's plans to build a new television plant this year and to invest in a development centre in Velenje.
Wang would like to see Chinese companies in general participate in projects in Slovenia. With four Chinese companies currently in play for the main construction work on the planned new railway line between the port of Koper and Divača, Wang would like to see one of them succeed in the tender.
"Chinese companies have a lot of experience in rail construction, as they have built them all around the world, they have well-developed technology and a lot of experience in construction of tunnels and in constructions in unpredictable terrain, such as karst."
The ambassador hopes that the selection procedure for the main contractor for the railway line will be "just and fair", but he is worried about the EU guidelines which allow for the exclusion of bidders from third countries from public procurement contracts. "I hope that Chinese companies will be able to participate," he stressed.
Wang also touched on the implementation of the fifth generation mobile network (5G) and the technology of the Chinese company Huawei, which is a thorn in the US's side, and the US is calling on its allies to reject Huawei's 5G technology for security reasons.
"But let's look at the facts. In the last 30 years, Huawei operated in more than 170 countries, and none of them reported about security issues. The US is talking about espionage, but there is no proof for this whatsoever. It is a question of technology which has been completely politicised by the US. We strongly object to this," Wang said.
The Chinese ambassador hopes that Slovenia will take a decision on 5G based on its own interest and needs, while taking into account the costs and quality of the selected technology. "I hope that it will take a pragmatic approach and that it will not succumb to the US influence," he said. As for security, Wang said that security risks could be avoided by setting common standards.
Wang admits that the coronavirus pandemic has eroded the relations between the EU and China, but he believes that problems can be bridged with cooperation. He sees potential for cooperation in the economic recovery measures presented by the EU. Wang stressed that the EU and China share similar ideas, especially when it comes to measures for combating climate change and protecting the environment. "Efforts have been made on both sides for cooperation to be facilitated."
China encourages European business executives to visit China, to re-start their businesses which had to be suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. "We also support European companies to relaunch their operations in China," he said, adding that China was offering a special visa regime to Slovenian business executives.
Besides the 17+1 initiative summit, no high-level political or business visits or events between the countries are planned for this year. The plan was different but, as Wang put it, they were blown away by the coronavirus pandemic.
"I hope that we will also make agreements about this after the situation normalises," said Wang, who also announced China's support to Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of next year. He also pointed to the links in culture and education among the important elements of the countries' cooperation.
"I don't dare to be an optimist," Wang said when asked how he imagines the new reality after the pandemic. The disease is far from being defeated, he warned, adding that if China developed a vaccine for Covid-19, it will be made a global public good, as announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly.
Countries must defeat the new coronavirus together and in solidarity, he said to conclude the interview for the STA.
All our stories about China and Slovenia
STA, 8 June 2020 - Three coalition parties have filed legislative changes under which children who skipped mandatory vaccinations could not be enrolled in publicly-funded kindergartens and schools, while those without all mandatory shots could not work in health care or care homes or study and train for these professions.
Secondary schools and universities, not only in health but also in education, would not be allowed to admit students who have not had all their shots, under the proposed changes to the changes to the communicable diseases act.
The changes would allow medical exceptions for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. In Slovenia, vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis and hepatitis B are mandatory.
Proposed by 38 MPs of the Modern Centre Party (SDS), the Democratic Party (SDS) and the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), the changes would prohibit those who had not received these vaccines from working with patients in health care and care homes.
Moreover, health workers and care home staff would also have to get flu shots every year, the cost of which would be covered by the Health Insurance Institute.
The changes also stipulate fines for legal entities, meaning health institutions, care homes, kindergartens and schools, found in breach of the provisions to the tune of between EUR 400 and EUR 40,000.
The sponsors want to fast-track the legislation through parliament.
A similar bill was proposed by the Modern Centre Party (SMC) in late February just as a non-parliamentary party submitted to parliament a proposal to abolish mandatory vaccination altogether.
STA, 8 June 2020 - In a unique decision, Germany will send a married couple of ambassadors to Slovenia in August. Termed a family-friendly job sharing experiment by the German Tagesschau news programme, it will allow Natalie Kauther and Adrian Pollmann to take turns as ambassador every eight months for the next four years.
In an article posted on Sunday, Tagesschau says that this is the first such decision by the German Foreign Ministry in an effort to give its employees more flexibility.
The pair, in their mid-40s, said the main reason why they lobbied for this arrangement was because they realised they needed to spend more time with their children, aged seven, eight and ten.
The pair have experience with job sharing, as they had previously both held, at the same time, the title of deputy-ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
They decided not to split the mandate in two, but to switch every eight months, with Pollmann starting the rotation in August.
STA, 6 June 2020 - Ten years have passed since the referendum in which Slovenians expressed support for the border arbitration agreement with Croatia. After a fierce campaign, the arbitration received the green light in a narrow vote. But despite great expectations, the countries are still on opposite sides a decade later.
The arbitration agreement was signed by the then prime ministers Borut Pahor and Jadranka Kosor in Stockholm on 4 November 2009 following almost two decades of failed border talks.
The agreement envisaged taking the issue of both land and sea border to the arbitration tribunal. The tribunal was also to decide on Slovenia's junction with high seas and a regime for the use of maritime zones.
The agreement was reached following an intervention from the EU to overcome the impasse created by Slovenia's blockade of Croatia's EU accession. Slovenia argued that Croatia was predetermining the border between the countries in the documents it submitted to the EU during accession talks.
The Slovenian parliament ratified the arbitration agreement in April 2010 but decided to nevertheless put the matter to a referendum on 6 June, arguing "this is such an important issue that the final decision should be made by the people".
A total of 51.54% of voters backed the agreement and 48.46% were against. The turnout was 42.66%.
In the campaign, the opponents of the agreement - the then opposition Democrats (SDS), People's Party (SLS), National Party (SNS) and the Institute 25 June - argued the deal posed a risk to Slovenia's national interests, while the advocates - the Social Democrats (SD)-led coalition - claimed the agreement was the best possible solution, protecting Slovenia's interests and guaranteeing it access to the open sea.
President Pahor labelled that time as a period of "extraordinary concerns, stress, responsibility, focus but also happiness because of successes on this path" in a recent statement for the STA.
He said he had no doubt the referendum would be a success. "I simply did not see any other option, alternative to us succeeding."
In the years that followed, all deadlines from the agreement were honoured, but in 2015 it became clear that Croatia had made a false promise.
In July that year, the Croatian newspaper Večernji List published a recording of phone conversations between Slovenian member of the arbitration tribunal Jernej Sekolec and Slovenian agent in the case Simona Drenik discussing details of the tribunal's confidential deliberations.
The scandal prompted the pair to step down and Croatia withdrew from the arbitration process, calling it compromised, although the tribunal later decided to resume its work.
Later it transpired that Sekolec and Drenik were tapped by the Croatian Intelligence Service (SOA).
The arbitration tribunal declared its final decision on the border on 29 June 2017, awarding Slovenia the bulk of the Bay of Piran, as well as a belt extending 2.5 nautical miles in width, which would be Slovenia's junction with the open seas. The border on land largely followed the demarcation of cadastral municipalities.
Although the decision gave neither side everything it wanted, Slovenian politicians were united that it was biding and must be implemented while Croatia insisted on rejecting it.
Zagreb would like the countries to engage in bilateral talks again but Slovenia has so far rejected this option. Current Foreign Minister Anže Logar said when he started his term that the tribunal's decision was clear and that legal decisions of international tribunals must be respected.
However, during his hearing in parliament before taking office he proposed appointing a special envoy for Croatia, noting it was time for quiet diplomacy.
A decade after the arbitration referendum Pahor remains optimistic. "I know some still think today that Slovenia should have got more when it comes to the border but many thought so for 18 years but were not successful. Now the border has been set, Croatia will acknowledge it sooner or later," the president told the STA.
The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 5 June 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here
Mladina: Šarec's comeback
STA, 5 June 2020 – The left-wing weekly Mladina takes a look on Friday at the latest Slovenian Public Opinion survey, which is to be released next week, but which the weekly says shows former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec's LMŠ has climbed back to the top of party rankings, overtaking the ruling Democrats (SDS). It wonders what potential consequences this shift could bring.
"Slovenian Public Opinion, one of the oldest opinion polls in Slovenia, brings extremely interesting results, which were already signalled in polls by Ninamedia and Mediana - that Janez Janša and his government of the SDS, SMC, NSi and DeSUS has failed to convince voters, losing their support since assuming power on 13 March."
Editor-in-chief Grega Repovž says the reasons for this are well known: Janša has abused Covid-19 for a political and ideological pogrom and for giving medical equipment deals to friends' companies. "Slovenians, including those who have otherwise no ideological reservations towards him, will never forgive him especially the latter."
However, the survey, which is released once a year by Ljubljana's Faculty of Social Sciences, is even more interesting from the aspect of Šarec, showing that two months after the change of government, the parties of Janša and Šarec are equally popular.
Mladina says "Šarec has managed to return to the first party league ... incredibly fast, while it seemed highly unlikely even in mid-April that he could at all make such a comeback". The LMŠ has managed to get back to the No. 1 spot even if people blamed him for the emergence of Janša's government coalition due to his resignation.
"What is more, he is returning to the top despite a very brutal campaign launched by the entire government coalition, the Hungarian-owned media and the media subjected to the SDS (Siol.net) which tried to portray him as the one who took wrong decisions and was responsible for the lack of medical equipment at the outbreak of the epidemic."
The survey has also shown the LMŠ, the Social Democrats (SD) and the Left would win an outright majority if an election was held now, Mladina says under the headline Šarec's Comeback. Noting the survey was carried out before Tanja Fajon took over as SD leader, Repovž believes her leadership could even further strengthen the trio.
Mladina says that voters seem to have very quickly forgiven Šarec for pushing them into distress by resigning as prime minister at the end of January, which however does not mean an early election is anywhere near.
This is also why it is too early to speculate whether it would be better if some other party than his, for instance, the Left or SD, should take the leading position. It however means that Janša's coalition partners will change their behaviour, with some MPs perhaps considering defecting to opposition parties.
Demokracija: Anti-govt protests
STA, 4 June 2020 - The right-wing magazine Demokracija takes stock of Friday's bicycle protests in the latest editorial, finding that while everyone has a right to protest, police will have to demand the organisers acquire the permission to hold protests in order to protect those who do not protest.
Under the headline Dinner with Cyclists, editor-in-chief Jože Biščak writes that one of those spotted at the protests was Rajko Kenda, the former medical director of the UKC Ljubljana Paediatric Clinic, whom he sees as "caricature and pathetic cry of fighters for democracy".
"The man who ruined paediatrics and child surgery and who (...) knows about everything should have been pedalling an exercise bike at Dob [prison]."
Still, Biščak says that anyone has a right to protest against anything as protest is one of the forms of the freedom of speech.
"The problem is in understanding human freedoms. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has done much damage. There is much that has been thrown in there, including the right to prosperity. As a result the concepts of rights and freedoms have become totally mixed up."
The editor notes that as a result human rights are now also a right to housing, artistic expression, positive rights that pertain to an individual, while collective rights do not exist.
"Cyclists come to the protest as individuals. As a group, regardless of their numbers, they do not have any special freedoms (or rights).
"The first problem is the permission for the protest. They do not have one. They come and protest. This is wrong understanding of the rule of law. The permission for a protest rally is not designed for the authorities to check the content but so they know who provides the security and where and when the rally will be held (...)
"Consider what happened if ten of us gathered and we protested by driving in the middle of Slovenska Street. We would be captured like rabbits because we were only ten. That would mean the law of the stronger (...) It is unequal treatment before the law."
Noting that the protests held in support of Janez Janša in front of the Ljubljana court house in 2014 were held with the authorities' permission and in accordance with traffic regulations, Biščak says that while police now wisely let Friday cyclists their way, sooner or alter they will have to demand the organisers get the permission.
"Do not let them worry, they will get one, there is no dictatorship in Slovenia that would prevent anyone from protesting or expressing their views. However, in that way responsibility will be personalised and locations determined, which they will have to respect. So they do not disrupt life in the capital and those 99% of Ljubljana people who are not at the protest."
All our posts in this series are here
STA, 5 June 2020 - Despite the stormy weather, anti-government protesters on bicycles hit the streets of several Slovenian towns for the seventh consecutive Friday, the biggest crowd rallying in the capital Ljubljana.
Even before the protest, a dozen gathered in rain in the square in front of the parliament building in Ljubljana to draw slogans on the ground with chalks.
This has become a new form of protest after a group of protesters were subject to a misdemeanour procedure a week ago for drawing a slogan on the pavement and face fines.
In a public letter signed by more than 100 individuals, the Forum for Democracy condemned what they described as "growing police repression" targeting "citizens and their constitutional right to a freedom of expression".
Pred predsedniško in vladno palačo trenutno skandirajo ... pic.twitter.com/tWF4HSDhn5
— Blaž Petkovič (@Soba404) June 5, 2020
Despite the police taking steps against individuals drawing slogans last week, the streets in the centre of Ljubljana were today covered in new chalk slogans such as Stop corruption, Nature is not yours, and calls for PM Janez Janša and his government to resign.
Protest organisers called on participants to draw on the streets and pavements exclusively rather than on the walls or facades of buildings.
As every Friday, the protesters doing rounds of the streets surrounding the parliament and government buildings shouted slogans and clanked their bicycle rings, played music or made some other noise.
ene 12 nas je pic.twitter.com/3AWKtwr26y
— Roni Kordiš (@had) June 5, 2020
Coinciding with World Environment Day, the protest also heard loud opposition to the efforts to exclude environmental organisations from investment approval procedures.
The protests are being organised by several groups and initiatives, who have been inviting people to join in the cycling via social networks.
At an assembly on Wednesday, several of the initiatives decided that the demonstrations next Friday will be held on foot rather than on bicycles to allow everyone to take part in a protest against authoritarian politics.
