The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 23 July 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here
Mladina: Preparations in light of low vaccination rate
STAv, 23 July 2021 - In its latest editorial, Mladina looks at the situation in Slovenia regarding vaccination and suggests that the vaccinated and non-vaccinated will need to learn how to co-exist. Under the headline Us, the Vaccinated and Them, the Unvaccinated, the weekly calls for preparedness and suggests alternative measures to vaccination.
"The vaccination debate has become very personal, there are feuds between partners, families and friends. The debate is so fierce that some get vaccinated in secret, while others hide their intention not to be vaccinated," begins the commentary.
Mladina continues with criticizing Slovenia's unsuccessful collective effort to achieve herd immunity, adding that the whole society, including the government, needs to accept that some people are simply not going to get vaccinated.
"We need to react not by violence, arrogance and ridiculing those who oppose vaccination, but by introducing other ways of preventing infections and establishing rules of behaviour between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated."
Mladina suggests that there should be more focus on schools and the preparations for the upcoming fourth wave of the epidemic, criticizing the government for "betting exclusively on vaccination."
The weekly says that Slovenia is ill-prepared for the next wave and the autumn, when people will return to the offices, classrooms and other indoor spaces, adding that the alternative solutions like ventilation technologies are being ignored.
"We need to be realistic and prepare in good time: we are only a month away from the start of the school year and more people staying in unventilated spaces. Two roughly equal groups of people with completely different views of the epidemic will be living in the same society, that is a fact to which all measures must be adapted," concludes the commentary.
Demokracija: Leftists getting more radical
STA, 22 July 2021 - The right-wing weekly Demokracija says in its latest editorial that last week's developments indicate the left bloc continues to realise their idea of transforming Slovenia back into a socialist country despite the centre-right government. Even leftists who are willing to cooperate are being radicalised, it adds.
The left-wing's control in the media, NGOs, institutions and even ministries provides a button that, when pushed, enables media attacks or violence, says the weekly, adding that "the left-wing is willing to burn to the ground everything it does not like".
Listing the centre-left opposition's responses to last week's political developments, Demokracija says that leftists think every rightist is a racist, Nazi, supremacist or harbouring a tendency towards autocracy.
"This is, of course, complete nonsense. Same goes for leftists: not all of them are inclined to Marxism, repression of freedom of speech or opening of gulags," says the commentary, headlined Let's Talk About the Left Wing Then, arguing there is a key difference between the two poles though.
Those that are not all-around leftists in Slovenia are overnight subjected to threats as dire as foreshadowing physical violence, so even the progressives who are willing to cooperate are being radicalised including with the enormous help of mainstream media, Demokracija writes.
"The leftists believe they have a right to eradicate ideological opponents and that only they may rule," says the weekly, highlighting that the right-wing has been silently observing this as well as underestimating "the rise of cultural Marxism".
"If we're only silently observing, I fear this will not end well for either of us. It is good if one prays for a good harvest, but then one has to grab a hoe, rake, scythe and garden fork as well," concludes the commentary.
All our posts in this series are here
