The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 17 January 2020

Mladina: Health bill vote may be behind attempt at govt destabilisation

STA, 17 January 2020 - "It is unclear what or who causes hysteria in Slovenian politics," the left-wing weekly Mladina says as it analyses peculiar events before the congress of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and opposition Democrat (SDS) leader Janez Janša's latest attempt to destabilise the government.

Editor-in-chief Grega Repovž accuses the media for helping create the hype around tomorrow's DeSUS congress by demanding senior DeSUS members reveal who they will support in the leadership battle between incumbent leader and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and his most serious challenger Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec.

"Is it really unusual that not all DeSUS MPs are behind Erjavec," wonders Mladina on Friday. "Since when is it normal for all MPs to have the same opinion and since when one has to say it loud and clear before a secret ballot which candidate one supports".

What is wrong if there are challengers to the party leader at a congress, Repovž says, but points to the fact that there are many "personal" parties in Slovenia which have the party leader's name in their name so it is hard to imagine them being led by anyone else.

He implies that "such a perception of democracy probably stems from at least some fascination with the only orderly party in Slovenia, namely the SDS, which does not wonder who would stand for party president even if Janša's name in nowhere to be found in the party's name".

However, it is clear that this fire is being kindled by those who would like to destabilise the government - the opposition, says Repovž, but adds there is nothing wrong what that, this is something the opposition does.

Janša's intention is clear, he wants to make coalition parties and the prime minister nervous, Repovž says in reference to his Sunday interview in which he said the government coalition was clinically dead.

But there could also be more substantive reasons to undermine the government, Repovž says, noting a bill to abolish top-up health insurance and stop further privatisation in healthcare will go into third reading at the end of January.

Neither the SDS nor the opposition New Slovenia (NSi) or DeSUS hide their connections with the health insurance lobby, which is trying to undermine the bill at all cost. This could perhaps be the reason for trying to destabilise the government before a key vote, according to Mladina.

Demokracija: Iran-NLB case comes with an inconvenience

STA, 16 January 2020 - While the investigation into the contentious transactions worth US$1 billion by a British-Iranian citizen through the NLB bank is still ongoing, the "inconvenient" thing is that the head of the National Bureau of Investigation is actually investigating himself and "protecting political godfathers", the right-wing Demokracija says in its latest commentary.

The right-leaning weekly refers to Iraj Farrokhzadeh, who is suspected of laundering Iranian money through his NLB accounts in 2009-2010 in breach of anti money-laundering legislation, while Iran was subject to international sanctions.

The commentary comes after the Specialised State Prosecution announced earlier this month it had abandoned a part of the investigation related to abuse of office by bankers at NLB.

The announcement came "at the moment when the democratic world was being appalled by Iran, when new sanctions and similar investigations of money flows from Tehran to cells around the world were being announced".

"The matter is not innocent. Farrokh, the Iranian company owned by Iraj Farrokhzadeh, laundered a billion dollars through NLB between 2008 and 2010, during the government coalition under the Social Democrats (SD) and Borut Pahor."

In the commentary Length of the Shadow of a Dollar Banknote, editor-in-chief Jože Biščak adds that there is suspicion that the money was used to purchase goods that could be used for nuclear armament.

"In other words, at the time of international sanctions against the regime in Tehran, the Slovenian state-owned bank helped Iran break through the embargo."

The investigation is still ongoing, but the "inconvenient" thing is that Darko Muženič, the head of the National Bureau of Investigation, is actually investigating himself and protect political godfathers.

Demokracija refers to Muženič serving as the head of the Office for Money Laundering Prevention when the scandal broke out in 2017.

"He apparently became the boss of the National Bureau of Investigation only to steer the investigation so that only pawns on the chessboard are (possibly) eventually found guilty," it adds.

But those who think that foreign intelligence services (US in particular) are not informed in detail about the true perpetrators and that they do not know what the modus operandi was, are so wrong.

"If nothing happens and perpetrators do not get punished, sanctions against Slovenia, formally still an ally of the US and western democracies, will not be visible and public, but they will be very painful."

All our posts in this series are here

What follows is a weekly review of events involving Slovenia, as prepared by the STA.

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FRIDAY, 10 January
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor defended Slovenia's decision to evacuate troops from Iraq following an attack by Iran on the Erbil airbase where the six soldiers were stationed, saying a sovereign country had the right to assess whether its soldiers were safe or not. He said the evacuation was merely an early rotation of the team deployed to Erbil to train the Kurdish fighters. In another statement on 15 January, he said the temporary withdrawal would not tarnish Slovenia's reputation in the international community.
        BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar called on the EU to play a greater role in the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East as EU foreign ministers held an emergency session. He also reiterated Slovenia's commitment to remain a partner in the fight against IS and continue training Iraqi security forces.
        LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian central bank initiated a Constitutional Court challenge against a law that would require it to cover all repayments to those who lost their investments during the banking sector bailout in 2013. The law was passed in late-2019 and provides easier access to recourse for roughly 100,000 potential plaintiffs, both shareholders and holders of junior bonds, wiped out on instruction from the EU.
        LJUBLJANA - Public Administration Minister Rudi Medved tried to reassure the public that concerns about health risks related to 5G technology were given due attention. But while he deems the concerns legitimate, he also said Slovenia needed 5G as he addressed the press after a protest against the technology.

SATURDAY, 11 January
        LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec criticised the way Slovenian military instructors had been pulled out of Iraq earlier in the week. "The last thing we wanted was media hype," he said on Twitter in reference to Defence Minister Karl Erjavec and President Borut Pahor, supreme commander of the Armed Forces, deciding to bring home Slovenia's six instructors stationed in Erbil after Iran's rocket attack of their base.
        ADELBODEN, Switzerland - Skier Žan Kranjec won the giant slalom FIS World Cup Alpine Skiing race in Adelboden, taking the lead in the giant slalom rankings.
        DRESDEN, Germany - Cross-country skier Anamarija Lampič won silver in the sprint event of FIS Cross-Country event in Dresden, taking the lead in the cross country sprint rankings.
        LJUBLJANA - Renault's Clio, one of the best selling cars in Slovenia since its launch in 1990, was declared the Slovenian car of 2020, in a competition organised by the Slovenian automotive media for the 28th time.

SUNDAY, 12 January
        LJUBLJANA - Janez Janša, leader of the opposition Democrats (SDS), told TV Slovenija in a rare interview that the Marjan Šarec government coalition was "clinically dead". Since the current balance of power in parliament makes it impossible to build a strong alternative majority, he thinks an early election is likely. Opposition New Slovenia (NSi) leader Matej Tonin confirmed on 13 January his party was taking part in talks on a potential new coalition, which were ongoing at all times, but all coalition parties later denied being involved in any specific talks.

MONDAY, 13 January
        LJUBLJANA - Environment Minister Simon Zajc responded to calls for Slovenia to declare a state of climate emergency by saying that "concrete measures are more important than declaring a climate crisis". He believes it should be first determined if a majority in parliament supports the measures that would have to be taken if a climate emergency is declared.
        LJUBLJANA - Five hospitals must return a total of EUR 4.9 million in restructuring funds they received from the state in 2017 to get out of the red because the funds were not spent within the deadline, which was however set retroactively, the newspaper Delo reported. While the Ljubljana Institute of Oncology has already returned the money, the other four hospitals intend to use all legal means to keep the money.
        KRŠKO - Power utility group GEN, part of which is Slovenia's only N-plant NEK, reported EUR 2.2 billion in revenue and EUR 48 million in net profit in 2019. Investments totalled EUR 100 million.
        LJUBLJANA - Austria's Human Rights Ombudsman Werner Amon, who is also secretary general of the International Ombudsman Institute, visited Slovenia to meet his counterpart Peter Svetina. The pair discussed ways of strengthening cooperation between ombudsmen in Europe.
        LJUBLJANA - The Environment Ministry gave out its first environmental award, honouring maritime pilot Andrej Gorup, who prevented an environmental disaster in April 2019 by re-routing a Swedish oil tanker heading towards the port of Koper with an alarming speed.
        LJUBLJANA - Some 84,350 new cars and vans were sold in Slovenia in 2019, a 1% drop over 2018. Volkswagen dominated the market, followed by Renault and Škoda, shows data released by the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce.

TUESDAY, 14 January
        JERUSALEM, Israel - The Simon Wiesenthal Center criticised the recent decision by the Slovenian Supreme Court to annul the 1946 conviction of Leon Rupnik, who headed the Provisional Government of the Nazi-occupied Province of Ljubljana. In a letter sent to the Slovenian ambassador to Israel, the centre said the "shameful decision constitutes a shocking distortion of the history of the Holocaust and a horrific insult to Rupnik's many victims and their families".
        LJUBLJANA - The Government Office for Slovenians Abroad confirmed the first Venezuelans of Slovenian descent had already arrived in Slovenia as part of the largest repatriation project in the country, prompted by the Venezuela crisis. The office would not reveal any details, but the government set aside EUR 1.2 million for the project with 53 persons so far applying for resettlement.
        ABU DHABI, UAE - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar attended a ministerial of the Slovenian-sponsored Green Group initiative to discuss preparations for the Expo 2020 Dubai. He also met his Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Thani Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, the minister of climate change and environment.
        LJUBLJANA - A higher court threw out the guilty verdict of radiologist Zoran Milošević over bribery because the case had become statute-barred following an appeal. Milošević had been sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of ten months for accepting a EUR 7,200 bribe in exchange for making sure UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital, chose a specific company as the supplier of a medicinal device. Milošević is also the chief defendant in a separate trial related to the biggest health corruption case in the country's history.
        LJUBLJANA - Acclaimed playwright Simona Semenič won publisher Mladinska Knjiga's 10,000-euro Blue Bird Prize for the best as yet unpublished youth novel. Skrivno Društvo KRVZ (KRVZ Secret Society), to be released in April, tells a story about a group of friends and their adventures including dragons and secret maps.

WEDNESDAY, 15 January
        LJUBLJANA - Photographer Stojan Kerbler, 81, and ballet dancer and choreographer Milko Šparemblek, 91, were declared the winners of this year's Prešeren Prize for lifetime achievements in the arts. This is the first time the Prešeren Prize has been given to a photographer. The awards, togehter with six minor Prešeren Fund Prizes for achievements in the past three years will be conferred on 7 February, the eve of Culture Day.
        LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec said there was no reason for his government to fall, as he responded to an assessment by opposition Democrat (SDS) leader Janez Janša that the coalition was clinically dead. While he admitted problems did exist, Šarec said "if all of us worked for the same goal, we would be able to solve many of these problems".
        LJUBLJANA - PM Marjan Šarec denied interfering in the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) pre-congress developments, and rejected the speculation that DeSUS leader Karel Erjavec's ministerial seat was at stake due to his awkward handling of troops' temporary withdrawal from Iraq.
        LJUBLJANA - Dovolj.je, a Catholic civil society group dedicated to fighting against sexual abuse in the Slovenian Roman Catholic Church called for the resignation of Ljubljana Archbishop Stanislav Zore due to the church's persistent failure to tackle sexual abuse allegations. The Slovenian Bishops' Conference rejected the call, saying it was under Zore's chairmanship of the conference that the church had continued taking action against sexual abuse.
        LJUBLJANA - A group of five Eritrean citizens whose asylum applications were rejected in December staged a protest against what they believe is systematic rejection of Eritreans by state authorities, whose decisions suggest that Eritrea is a safe country while it is actually among the most repressive regimes in the world. The Interior Ministry rejected the allegations, saying all applications were treated individually and all personal circumstances of every applicant were considered.
        LJUBLJANA - Several hundred people turned up to protest in front of Government Palace over a provocative Christmas Eve Twitter post by Education Ministry State Secretary Jernej Štromajer that conservatives had interpreted as deriding Christmas and Christians. The protesters repeated their call for Štromajer's resignation.

THURSDAY, 16 January
        LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor completed a two-day round of consultations with parliamentary parties on the most suitable candidates for two Slovenian judges at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg. Klemen Podobnik and Jure Vidmar seem to enjoy the most support among deputy groups. Pahor will now have to send his nominations to parliament, where the candidates need to secure 46 votes to get appointed.
        LJUBLJANA - Unhappy with the government's slow tackling of waiting times in the public health system, the Medical Chamber drafted a bill to reduce them, which the opposition New Slovenia (NSi) filed to parliament a few days ago. The chamber's president Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik said the bill would enable the ZZZS public health insurer to temporarily commission all medical services providers, including private entities, to carry out additional medical services.
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left failed in its attempt to make the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee condemn the use of US military force in the Middle East and call on the government to express opposition to the US policy on Iran. Several MPs accused the Left at the session of attempting to score political points.
        LJUBLJANA - The opposition Democrats (SDS) tabled a legislative amendment to reinstate compulsory six-month military service to deter military threats, strengthen patriotism and improve the mental and physical fitness of the country's male population. The party says it has cross-partisan support.
        LJUBLJANA - Slovenia remains an attractive destination for Austrian investors; a survey of the representation of the Austrian economy in Slovenia, Advantage Austria Ljubljana, showed 75% of Austrian entrepreneurs believe the country will also be attractive for new investments this year, which is still much lower than the record-high of 91% from 2019.

All our posts in this series are here

STA, 16 January 2020 - Businessman Damijan Janković, the son of Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković, has been fined EUR 2,000 for abetting a tax fraud scheme involving two luxury apartments that ultimately benefited his business partners at the expense of the treasury. Their company has been implicated in several criminal cases that directly involve the Ljubljana mayor.

Janković's business partners, Ivan Mikulin and Boštjan Stamejčič, received suspended sentences of 14 months and 17 months, respectively, plus fines of EUR 2,550 and EUR 6,000.

The verdict, handed down by the Ljubljana District Court on Thursday, caps a trial that started in March 2019 and focused on the sale of a luxury apartment in Ljubljana and one in Tolmin, western Slovenia.

The court found that by forging documentation, the trio committed tax fraud by declaring the properties as business premises while in fact they served as apartments; Damijan Janković lived in one of them for a while.

The sentences are milder than proposed by the prosecution, but the presiding judge, Marjeta Dvornik, said the panel of judges "may not be guided by public pressure". The prosecutor, Marjana Grašič, said she was considering appealing.

The company that ultimately reaped tax benefits from the fraudulent transactions, Baza Dante, has been implicated in several cases in which the Ljubljana mayor has been a suspect in connection with the construction of the Stožice sports complex.

The company went bankrupt in 2014 and was liquidated in 2018.

STA, 15 January 2020 - A group of Eritrean citizens whose asylum applications have been rejected staged a protest in Ljubljana on Wednesday to point to what they believe is systematic rejection of Eritreans by state authorities, whose decisions suggest that Eritrea is a safe country while it is actually among the most repressive regimes in the world.

 The protest by the Eritrean Community of Slovenia and its supporters in front of the asylum centre in Ljubljana comes after the Interior Ministry rejected international protection applications by five Eritreans in late December.

According to the protesters, the negative decisions say that Eritrea is a safe country, which contradicts the fact that Slovenia had until recently been granting international protection to Eritrean citizens as part of the EU relocation scheme.

There must have been a turnaround, which is believed to be politically motivated, said the protesters, adding that the decisions by the Interior Ministry were "unprofessional and inconsistent".

They read a statement in which they called on the Slovenian government to review the decisions and create a policy on Eritrea which would be in line with international standards of human rights protection.

The protesters urged a faster and fair decision-making procedure, noting that Eritrea was the worst dictatorship in the world, where citizens were forced to perform military service for life, which meant slave labour without payment, or death.

Eritreans are thus considered the group who gets international protection in the EU with the greatest certainty. This was so in Slovenia until recently, and it is now the first country in the EU which follows the interpretation that Eritrea is a safe country, they added.

Slovenian asylum activist Miha Blažič told the press that the Interior Ministry had no plan for what to do with Eritreans who drop out of asylum procedure. He believes that rejections are a political decision aimed at discouraging Eritreans from asking for asylum and forcing them to leave the country.

The protesters noted that the ministry had stated that the applicants could have asked for asylum in Sudan, which they believe is not a safe country.

"The ministry asks us what will happen to us if we go back to Eritrea: we don't know, maybe they will kill us, or detain us. Eritrea has no constitution or courts, power is in the hands of the police and dictatorship. We are slaves to the regime," the statement reads.

The ministry rejected the allegations about unprofessional and politically motivated decisions, adding that all applications were treated individually and that all personal circumstances of every applicant, including Eritreans, were considered.

STA, 14 January 2020 - The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organisation researching the Holocaust, on Tuesday criticized the recent decision by the Slovenian Supreme Court to annul the 1946 conviction of Leon Rupnik, who headed the Provisional Government of the Nazi-occupied Province of Ljubljana.

In a letter sent to the Slovenian ambassador in Israel, the organisation said the "notorious anti-Semite" had played "a major role in the arrest and deportation of Jews from Ljubljana in 1943 and 1944" and actively participated in Holocaust crimes.

"This shameful decision constitutes a shocking distortion of the history of the Holocaust and a horrific insult to Rupnik's many victims and their families, the centre's director of Eastern European Affairs Efraim Zuroff said.

"We kindly request that you promptly convey our protest to the pertinent Slovenian authorities so that the proper measures can be taken to undo the enormous damage wrought by this unjust decision of the Slovenian Supreme Court," he said according to a press release published on the organisation's web page.

The Jewish Cultural Centre Ljubljana responded to the Supreme Court's decision last week with "indignation and concern", saying that it was the "first step in the politically-motivated aspiration to rehabilitate the criminal collaborationist regime during WWII".

After annulling the Rupnik verdict, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial, but since it is impossible under Slovenian law to try a dead person - Rupnik was court-martialled and executed for treason in 1946 - the most likely outcome seems to be a termination of procedure.

You can see videos of Leon Rupnik as the main speaker at a pro-Nazi rally in the centre of Ljubljana, saluting a Nazi flag, below

More on this story can be found here

STA, 14 January 2020 - Darko Muženič, the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI; Nacionalnega preiskovalnega urada - NPU), does not think there are untouchables in Slovenia, but he does think that procedures are taking too long. He also told the STA in an interview that crime investigation and prosecution should adapt to globalisation and new technologies.

In the ten years since its inception, the NBI has handled 1,100 criminal offences, filing 796 criminal complaints for criminal acts that netted a total of EUR 1.048 billion in illegal proceeds.

Calling the decision to establish the bureau visionary, Muženič says that the NBI can respond nation-wide any time and any place with all resources.

The staff includes 58 fully operative investigators, but Muženič would like to staff the bureau up, mainly with operational analysts and computer forensic specialists.

The NBI is looking for experienced crime investigators with specialist expertise to keep abreast with offenders, who use advanced technologies, virtual currencies, and even transport drugs by submarines.

"They are always in step with technological advances to cover up their activities," says Muženič, so he does not think it possible for the law enforcement to work the same way as it did 50 years ago.

The NBI cannot attract staff with wages alone. "People who come to work with us want to investigate crime and do something good," says Muženič, a former crime investigator himself.

He believes that criminal procedures in Slovenia are taking too long, wondering whether sanctions are still effective if conviction follows several years after the crime is first discovered.

He offered Italy as a good example of fast prosecution of corporate crime. "Remember the Parmalat financial fraud scandal? From detection of the crime (...) to conviction and confiscation of property, it took two years. The recent first-instance conviction in the Hypo case in Slovenia followed seven years after the criminal complaint."

Moreover, vehicles confiscated in Italy are made available to public services such as police or social services, while in Slovenia impounded vehicles "are kept stored until all procedures are concluded".

The NBI last year sought temporary seizure of assets as security against illegal proceeds in the amount of EUR 115 million.

Muženič also believes that there is still too little awareness in Slovenia about the damage financial crime causes to the country.

"In the US someone who willingly cheats employees and fails to pay tax is sent to prison for 40 years. In Slovenia such procedures take 10 to 15 years or may even become statute barred."

If failure to pay tax is seen as a sin abroad, it is still seen as being resourceful in Slovenia. "The problem is people's mentality."

Muženič lauded cooperation between the NBI, police crime investigation divisions and the Financial Administration, as well as other state bodies, but noted that resolving corporate crime takes time.

It is lengthy procedures in the past that may have caused the impression in public that there are people who are untouchable for the hand of justice, but he does not think this is true.

Muženič also notes the public misconception that someone who is subject to a house search, for example, must be guilty. This is why he disagrees with media presence during house searches.

"It's also true that when we opt for a house search, we are almost hundred percent sure that the person under investigation is also the perpetrator.

"When we draw up a complaint, we justify why we believe the suspect committed the crime. However, the court has the final say, deliberates whether evidence and our grounding are consistent enough to prove guilt."

Muženič, who took over at the NBI a few months ago having previously served as the head of the Office for Money Laundering Prevention, has made crack-down on money laundering and corruption one of his priorities.

"We don't have big international corporations, professional money launders as they have abroad. It's all done on a smaller scale, but still considerable considering the country's size."

Even though there is not much talk about that in public, the police are working on these crimes, he says.

When it comes to money laundering, Slovenia has a robust preventive system, legislation aligned with the EU, and financial institutions have good systems to detect deviations.

As one of its strategic priorities, the NBI also monitors developments in public investment projects. However, Muženič says that mainly prevention is important when it comes to public tenders.

"Procedures must be conducted transparently and so as to detect flaws on time and notify those in charge. It is the job of those who run public contracting and of effective legislation."

STA, 13 January 2020 - Janez Janša, the leader of the opposition Democrats (SDS), believes that the coalition is "clinically dead" and with the current balance of power making it impossible to build a strong alternative majority, he thinks an early election is in the cards.

Janša told TV Slovenija in a rare interview late on Sunday that "it will be clear in the next few weeks" whether someone is ambitious enough to try to put together a government.

"We realize that it is impossible to put together something strong. The dilemma facing us and other parties is: do we prevent damage, or do we give it a sober deliberation whether ... the moment has come," he said.

While acknowledging that neither parties nor MPs or voters want an early election, he said that "some European countries head to the polls multiple times a year".

The former two-time prime minister described the Marjan Šarec government as "clinically dead", having previously being provided "artificial respiration" by the opposition Left.

"It is a political corpse that is cooling. And the speed of cooling depends primarily on the price list of [opposition National Party (SNS) leader] Zmago Jelinčič.

"He's the one who is keeping it alive. You be the judge of to what extent this is in the interest of the state and whether this is the stability that Slovenia needs," Janša told TV Slovenija.

The SNS has most recently helped the government appoint Angelika Mlinar as cohesion minister, providing the missing votes and the necessary abstentions to give the government a majority in parliament.

Speculation about a new coalition were given rise at the end of 2019 after the Left pulled out of a deal to support the minority government.

The right-leaning opposition New Slovenia (NSi) and the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) and the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) were being mentioned as potentially interested in it.

NSi leader Matej Tonin confirmed on Monday his party was taking part in talks about a potential new coalition, saying "talks on alternative coalitions between some coalition and opposition parties are under way all the time".

"If you're in politics and want to do something good for the state, you have to have your door constantly open and keep the talks going."

Although he declined to predict when a new government coalition could become a reality, he said a potential new prime minister-designate has also been discussed.

But it is Tonin's view that the necessary 46 votes, which the opposition itself does not have, could not be secured in the next few weeks.

Even if it were secured, a potential new government would have a rather weak parliamentary majority, he admitted.

He believes it would be best to form a new coalition after an early election, but admitted that apart from the NSi, nobody in parliament wanted an early election.

While the SAB and the SMC would not comment on Janša's statement, MP Jerca Korče of the ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) said the government was far from clinically dead.

She considers Janša's statements a destabilisation attempt, encouraging negativism, which she said Janša had been doing since the start of this government's term. Korče stressed the LMŠ was not worried about the talks on a new coalition being under way all the time.

"We are working, this is our duty. The talks others are engaged in are their scenarios reflecting their wish to politically destabilise what is apparently working too well, so it should be slowly undermined."

Speaker Dejan Židan, leader of the coalition Social Democrats (SD), sees Janša's statement as his big wish for him to chair the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021, but he stressed that the incumbent coalition would do it very well.

Židan disagrees with the assessments that the coalition is so paralysed that it is doing only the most urgent things, pointing out it had just recently adopted the state budget.

Luka Mesec of the Left said that his party was not involved in any talks on a potential new coalition.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 10 January 2020

Mladina: Pahor is undermining government

STA, 10 January 2020 - In Friday's editorial, the left-leaning Mladina analyses two of President Borut Pahor's recent public appearances only to draw the conclusion that he is undermining the Marjan Šarec government to pave the way for Janez Janša of the opposition Democrats (SDS). The party won the 2018 election.

In his 30 December interview for TV Slovenija, Pahor clearly indicated that he does not like Prime Minister Šarec and that Šarec should leave the premiership to Janša.

"This was harsh manipulation by the president and an attempt to picture the situation in the country as strained and abnormal," says editor-in-chief Grega Repovž.

His attempt to fuel uncertainty and question the government's legitimacy has failed, having had no response, but the president nevertheless behaved oddly.

Pahor hinted at his discontent a few days earlier in his Independence Day speech, in which he presented his view that consensus politics was in a serious crisis.

Repovž admits Slovenia has a far-right party which spreads intolerance, namely the SDS, various militias have been popping up and hate speech is a problem.

"But this is not what Pahor meant. On the contrary, he wanted to say that he does not find it right that political parties refuse to cooperate with the SDS and Janša."

In the interview Pahor took a step further; while admitting the coalition has secured political stability, he indicated the government should now embark on reforms even at the cost of its own collapse.

Mladina says in the editorial headlined Pahor, the Manipulator that the president's statements are full of manipulation and deceit.

He pictured political stability as a source of instability, and said reforms were needed for Slovenia's revival, but Repovž wonders what revival he had in mind when Slovenia has one of the highest GDP growth rates and one of the lowest public debts in Europe.

Repovž believes Pahor's manipulation is aimed at creating the impression that Slovenian politics is in an emergency situation which needs to be stopped right now, so he in effect advised Šarec to cause his government'collapse by himself.

Mladina admits neither the government not Šarec is ideal, and ministers do not deserve As, which should provide Pahor with enough material for justified criticism.

"But Pahor is not interested in content, he is bothered by Šarec and by the fact the government is not led by his favourite politician Janša. This is the bottom line.

"He is thus willing to portray the situation as an emergency. What is most worrying is his superiority and his attempt to show that it is not legitimate if the government is run by this coalition, which is something a serious president cannot afford."

Demokracija: How the rich help the poor

STA, 9 January 2020 - As first consumers of very expensive goods, the rich have in fact helped reduce social inequality, so there is no need to raise taxes for them to channel more money towards the poor, the right-leaning weekly Demokracija argues in its editorial on Thursday.

It was an invaluable experience to listen to all sorts of leftists before the New Year saying they would continue their fight against exploitative capitalism, says the editor-in-chief Jože Biščak.

Wicked capitalism, as opposition Left leader Luka Mesec termed it, is apparently also reflected in social inequality measured by wealth.

Since we are not as far as redistributing it by looting, Mesec is reciting his mantra of "fair taxation" under which the rich should pay more.

It is of course typical of socialists to fight against capitalism with other people's money, which defies the logic of market economy.

But the statistically-corroborated fact is that never in the world have so few people lived under the poverty threshold and have goods been more available to everyone.

"And the credit goes solely to the rich, who play the role of 'food tasters in royal courts'," the magazine's editor-in-chief says in the eponymous commentary.

They can be credited with having been able to afford a terribly expensive innovation such as a TV set or a mobile phone at a certain moment in history, and their response enabled producers to assess the future demand.

Them being pioneer consumers benefits all, making goods more accessible also for the poorer classes. "So eventually, if I use the speak of the leftists, this helps reduce social inequality," Biščak concludes.

All our posts in this series are here