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Janša Forever: Graffiti on a bridge in Maribor.
The head of the center-right party SDS, Janez JanÅ¡a, was elected to be Slovenia’s new prime minister yesterday. His accession ends virtually 12 years of center-left rule in this country. He now has 15 days to submit a cabinet to the Slovenian parliament for approval.
Although JanÅ¡a has his share of enemies, many Slovenes seem to be happy to see a shake-up in government, regardless of their political affiliation. The question is how big the shake-up will be. JanÅ¡a is expected to basically stay the course when it comes to the economy, although he has promised to reduce the country’s colossal taxes, work on improving the privatization process and reform the labor market.
One very big question, of course, is what to do about… you-know-who. The neighbor. The one that rhymes with "Malaysia." The border issue between the two countries is still a pressing problem, and JanÅ¡a will be under enormous pressure to solve it to Slovenia’s advantage.
Shortly after the election, I had a chance to talk with Mr. JanÅ¡a over the phone. I didn’t have much time, but you can read the interview here. There’s also a longer profile of JanÅ¡a here.
Here’s wishing him and the new government the best of luck in the coming years.
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“First we will try to reform our educational system.”….two words. mein gott!
I would rather say: Good luck Slovenija…you will need it. I will certainly vote next time….
The border issue is a bigger problem for Croatia because unless it is resolved they cannot enter the EU or NATO.
JanÅ¡a spent his early youth without any doubts considering the world he lived in. The communist propaganda was prevailing everywhere.You couldn’t escape it: it was at school, in media, on the streets, at working places… His parents didn’t tell him anything. They thought: The less you know the better.
So he became active in the League of Socialist Youth of Slovenia. Father didn’t comment. Mother complained. When he was 17 he was accepted to the Communist Party at school. At home a storm awaited him. Father was mad saying “now he joined those who had been murdering on a mass scale.” JanÅ¡a didn’t understand.
But as he grew older he started to realize that things were not as they seemed. In late 80s he was writing very critical, analytic articles for Mladina, mostly about the Yugoslave army. The Army and the Party were furious. In 1998 the Slovenian secret police arrested him. (Nobody can be so naive as to belive that the secret police did that on her own; the head of the secret police was the Party = KuÄ?an). They handed him over to the Yugo army in Ljubljana and he was imprisoned. The process at the military court was carried on in Serbo- Croatian which additionaly enraged Slovenians. The Committee for Human Rights was established . There was a lot of different activities going on with the aim of liberating JanÅ¡a and three other people. The Committee was succesful, JanÅ¡a spent in prison just a few months.
At that time his father told him what he had gone through during and after the war. His father was born in 1927, nevertheless he was mobilised into the homeguard (domobranci). Since he was so young he never participated in any fighting. At the end of the war he fled with others to Austria, was returned to Yugoslavia, went through undescribable suffering and was finally taken to KoÄ?evski Rog.
When he was lying among hundreds of dead or half dead bodies with blood all over them, he realized that he was not hurt, the bullet missed his head. He managed to climb out of the pit. This was not the end of his calvary but he somehow succeded in staying alive.
In 1990, at the first democratic election in Slovenia, Demos, the coalition of democratic parties, won. JanÅ¡a became the defence minister. In 1991 the Yugoslave army attacked Slovenia. JanÅ¡a led the 10 days’ war for independence. He was extremely succesful as less then 100 people were killed.
After two years of Demos rule communists took over again. Soon he was expelled from the government.
In 1994 JanÅ¡a published his book Okopi (Entrenchments)in which he told - among descriptions of events in Slovenia 1991-1994 - his father’s experience with communists. He also described the communist technology of power. He saw them through, he wouldn’t let himself being deceived by them ever again.
So he became the national enemy number one. Incredible smear campaigns were carried on in practically all media for years. A book was written about his fascism, his revengefulness, his pathological personality. (Spomenka Hribar: Svet kot zarota). The media made him responsible for everything that went wrong in Slovenia - though he was a leader of an opposition party!
Anyway, in the last couple of years the media have become somehow less aggressive. Maybe it is the influence of our joining the EU. His victory at the recent election was accepted quite calmly, without any fierce attacks or threats.
Andreja
In Slovenia like everywhere else, the media tends to favour left wing politicians rather than right wing politicians so Jansa was an obvious target. Right wing governments and politicians around the world have been the victims of relentless campaigns by the media to discredit them but it seems to be less successful. At the end, its people’s common sense that prevails.
Standing up for what you believe in, showing true leadership and being a “conviction” politician has NEVER been popular.