September 14, 2018
Mladina: Fighting hate speech Šarec's first task
STA - Containing hate speech should be one of the first tasks of the Marjan Šarec government, and it should be undertaken at the start of the term with a speedy emergency bill, the left-leaning weekly Mladina says in its commentary on Friday.
The task is difficult as it is, and even more so because the new ministers of justice, interior affairs and culture are not exactly politically skilled or powerful.
Hate speech has escalated to the point where Slovenia is even hard to compare to the other European countries.
This is because inciting hate has lasted longer here as Slovenia has had a far-right party, the Democrats (SDS), for much longer than for instance Germany or France.
Mladina's editor-in-chief Grega Repovž says that the Janez Janša camp, which is escalating its lies by the day, is without restraint.
What the far-right dares in Slovenia is not just hate speech, it is an endless incitement of hatred, lies, indecency, sullying, it is totally brutal and aggressive.
But this is not where it stops. The party has people marching in military uniforms, it has its shooting club where its leadership practices shooting with army-grade guns.
That intolerance is growing around the country could also be seen in excesses such as a militia formed by Andrej Šiško.
It is good that a video of Šiško's para-military unit has been released to public as it has finally exposed the actual situation.
Mladina wonders whether the public and politics are aware the current escalation of hatred is comparable to the situation just before a war breaks out.
It says this is a result of allowing hate speech for years because nobody wanted to confront it, or Janša.
Šarec should learn a lesson from his predecessor Miro Cerar, who has lost respect and elections because he tried to neutralise the right's power by narrowing the gap with its extremist positions.
Since hate speech is a problem of the entire Europe, governments are expected to act on it, so Mladina says a large part of society will support such action.
After all, the election result showed very clearly that the majority of Slovenian voters are against a policy of hatred, says the commentary “Šarec Government's First Task”.
Reporter: Low expectations for the new government
STA - The right-wing weekly Reporter argues in its latest editorial that the survival of the new Marjan Šarec government will depend more on external than internal factors. It could easier be brought down by an economic recession than migrants, editor-in-chief Silvester Šurla writes under the headline Indicator.
The first indicator of the direction the new government will take will be the vote on a package of bills for a more stimulating business environment put forward by New Slovenia (NSi), Šurla believes.
The announced taxes on capital gains, which have upset businesses, will probably not be introduced, as they would also affect the wealthy on the left.
Despite the agreement it signed with the Left, the new government will also not be able to obstruct the privatisation of the NLB bank because of the country's commitments to Brussels. Next year, Abanka is also to be sold.
"No great achievements could be expected from the future government, especially not regarding reforms. The list of ministerial names confirms this."
The cabinet is an "expanded coalition from the previous term, which under Miro Cerar merely preserved the status quo in the last four years". Economist Anže Burger is probably right in saying that it is a team that will last until the first economic crisis.
Internal factors will not be as determinant, according to Šurla. Cerar set up a fence at the border years ago and Šarec will probably also react if a new wave of migrants comes, so migration will not be an issue.
Although the coalition consists of as many as six parties, their leaders share the desire for staying in power. "Those who think that Šarec's government will fall apart overnight so that Janša could come to power are either very politically naive or are trying to make their members and voters feel better now that their party is again in the opposition."
The stability of the new coalition will also likely not be shaken by the November local election or the European election next year, Šurla says.
"Marjan Šarec will compensate for his lack of political experience in state politics with his acting talent. It is clear who will actually pull the strings. Those who did so during the governments of Alenka Bratušek and Miro Cerar."
