<nettime> MARINA GRZINIC: Slovenian new fascism, mass media are prevented from taking part in press conferences, hyper-militarization of the society

["Marina Grzinic" <margrz@zrc-sazu.si>]

New fascism in Slovenia, mass media are prevented from taking part in press conferences, hyper-militarization of the society 

 

At the beginning of March 2020,  Janez Janša was confirmed as the new prime minister of Slovenia.  It is Janez Janša's third time being nominated in such a position. He served as premier from 2004 until 2008 and had a truncated term from 2012 to 2013. He was sent to jail after being convicted of taking a bribe in a €278m arms deal. He served only six months of his sentence because the Constitutional Court overturned the conviction before the end of the prison term. He has continued to deny all allegations of wrongdoing.

 

He is a leader for decades of the Slovenian Democratic Party, the largest group in the parliament, a right-wing nationalist-populist party. Janša is a close ally of Victor Orban. 

 

Janša is an ultra-right anti-immigrant politician who kidnapped  Slovenia under the mask of the coronavirus. 

 

On 19.03 2020, addressing the nation, Janša, exposed that »The Slovenian Army will, therefore, begin expanding its units over the next few days with members of the volunteer reserves. Everyone with a command of military knowledge and skills and is not working in a critical job is invited to volunteer to join the collective effort to provide general security.«

 

So what we have in front of us is most dangerous than the virus; it is a form of fascism that I will name janš-ism, which is a drive for an all-over militarization od the Slovenian society. 

 

A  turbo post-socialist entanglement of old militarization fantasies, and political populist power.

 

The address to the nation by Janša on 19.03 2020 was as a nightmare, and it was as we were in the 1980s, as Janša looked like one of the Paraguay junta generals, in the time of the worst dictatorship, addressing the nation.

 

The government a few days ago stopped to have live press conferences with the journalists,  as the government body for managing the virus crisis claimed, to  "preserve"  journalists from a contagion. 

 

The government proposed instead that the media and their journalist should send the questions by mail and will get the answers.

 

Janša has recently attacked the Slovenian public TV for being too critical regarding his government. 

 

M. Grzinic, 21.03.2020 

 

 

 


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