Slovenian Right Rallies Against Corruption and Ineffective Governance

Protesters at the “Save Slovenia” rally on October 10. (SLS)

Right-wing parties in Slovenia organized a “Save Slovenia” rally in Ljubljana on October 10 . Protestors gathered at the Prešeren Square to demand action against corruption and to voice their frustration with the current Prime Minister, Marjan Šarec.

The non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) and the former mayor of Maribor Franc Kangler organized the protest, which was supported by the Democrats (SDS), the biggest opposition party, as well as various other right-wing non-parliamentary parties and civil initiatives. 

Prior to the rally, Kangler told the national broadcaster that the protesters would be focusing on issues such as inequality before the law, the lowering of environmental regulations to benefit large corporations, and poverty. SLS leader Marjan Podobnik described the protest to be “against abnormalities, wrongdoings and greed,” a rebuke to what his party views as the government’s poor handling of a wide range of issues. He hoped the protest would prompt the government to face these problems.

Addressing an estimated 5,000 protesters at the rally, Kangler claimed that the government had written off massive amounts of debt for certain high-level people, while others were unjustly punished for trivial matters. “Enough is enough,” he said as he called on the prime minister to resign, stating that Slovenia needs a prime minister who shows equal respect to everyone and not just to “first class” citizens. He also added that “it smells like spring,” referencing the Slovenian Spring independence movement from the late 1980s.

SDS head Janez Janša also addressed the protestors, declaring the rally to be “the beginning of the end of anti-Slovenian comedy,” and calling for a more tightly enforced border, lustration of corrupt judges, de-centralization of state institutions, abolishment of unnecessary agencies and funds, and the prosecution of people who laundered money from state-owned banks.

The right-wing “Save Slovenia” rally is part of a wave of anti-government protests across Central and Eastern Europe this year. From the Czech Republic to Montenegro, Romania to Albania, citizens across the political spectrum are denouncing widespread cronyism and corruption. Results have been modest thus far: it remains to be seen what response this trend will provoke from governments in the region.