This is good news for liberals and conservatives in Slovenia. Presenting a big tent platform of patriotic and libertarian populism, the SDS (Slovenian Democratic Party) made a great capture as the centre-left divide their support between LMS, Social Democrats and Modern Centre Party.
Taking a sharply populist turn at the premier of Janez Janša’s long-running leadership, the SDS has been in and out of power since 2004, rapidly enacting tax reduction measures and privatisation policies each time. They were once protested out of power over austerity measures however, and it is important that this time they approach the fragility of the economy with more caution (ensuring not to pull the rug up from underneath people’s feet unexpectedly) without losing faith in the liberatory power of the free market.
Comparisons to Trump are quite reasonable as the party is centred on the strong leadership and “cult of personality” surrounding Janša. Given the emphasis on strong borders and migration reduction, Janša and the SDS could also be compared to other European populists like Wilders, Le Pen, Huhtasaari etc. The party have promised to repeal two pieces of legislation for every new one enacted, and support same-sex civil unions while protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why they have practically unanimous support from the church, despite not being one of the various Christian parties in the country.
Still, the church has had the responsibility to be critical of certain “excesses” within the party, rather than succumbing to slavish partisanship. Populism is risky business, and sharp criticism is essential. One of the more “controversial” aspects of the party is their claim that former communist officials hold informal influence within key cultural institutions, an attitude that has been represented in the media as conspiratorial. No country in the West seems to be clean from the influence of cultural marxism, and Britain had her own foundational institutions recklessly restructured by New Labour (including numerous ex-communists) a couple of decades ago, all under the usual guise of progress and multiculturalism. It would not surprise me in the least if parallel projects in post-communist countries involved a considerable number of former communist officials, so this might not be such a conspiracy after all.
Either way, along with the victory of the populist coalition in Italy, this is another interesting turn in European electoral politics that is looking like a significant win for the right so long as Slovenia does not suffer further economic hardships that could be associated with the SDS’s privatisation policies. As the party have been both pro-Europe and highly critical of the EU (especially concerning borders and asylum quotas), it awaits to be seen how this will bode for Europe at large.
C Hill
Last Exit to Albion 