Prime Minister Janez Janša: We must build our shared future on the values of the time that united us

Author Foto Bobo

For 35 years, this historic statement has symbolised the courage, unity and determination of the Slovenian nation. Statehood Day gives us the opportunity to remember with gratitude all those who helped to create our state, and encourages us to look confidently to the future. United in our diversity and proud of our past, we are committed to building a Slovenia that remains a homeland for all.

The Prime Minister's full address reads as follows:

"Dear families of those who lost their lives in the War for Slovenia, dear veterans, fellow Slovenians and compatriots from neighbouring countries and around the world,

Madam President of the Republic, Mr President of the National Assembly, Mr President of the independence government,

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and other distinguished guests,

Dear patriots gathered here in the square and all those watching on television, "Minister, where can I enlist in the Territorial Defence?" a young boy called out behind me. He was practically still a child, around 12 years old. It was the end of June, 35 years ago, in the midst of the War for Slovenia. We were hurrying back from a press conference at Cankarjev dom to the defence headquarters when a young mother and her son approached us. Her husband, the boy's father, had been mobilised into the Territorial Defence, and she wanted to know when she could expect him to return home. The boy, however, wanted to know when he could join his father. He was far too young to serve, which is why he found my answer hard to accept. At the outset of the aggression, we had thousands of volunteers eager to defend Slovenia, yet we did not have enough weapons for them. Even the youngest were ready to fight for their homeland. That is why we knew that, whatever happened, we would win in the end.

This is why we are celebrating our Statehood Day today. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed, in any way, to the birth of an independent Slovenia and the foundation of our free, democratic society, whether that be at home, in neighbouring countries or across the globe. Thank you to the members of the Territorial Defence, the police and the civil defence. Thank you to all those who defended the democratic choice of the Slovenian nation in those decisive moments. Thank you to all citizens who have contributed to the development of our country through your work. And thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for Slovenia by giving their lives. Their sacrifice, and that of their loved ones, will never be forgotten.

"The Republic of Slovenia is a sovereign and independent state." This is the opening sentence of Article 1 of the Basic Constitutional Charter on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Slovenia. We adopted it on tomorrow's date, 35 years ago. Of the 240 delegates in attendance at the assembly at the time, 180 voted in favour of it. Although the political sphere was less unified than the Slovenian nation had been in the plebiscite, we nevertheless secured the necessary constitutional majority. This would not have been possible without nearly half of the left opposition at the time joining Demos in voting for independence.

The statement "The Republic of Slovenia is a sovereign and independent state" represents the most significant statement in any political or legal document in Slovenian history. By adopting this sentence, we fulfilled the constitutional will of the people, as expressed in the plebiscite, and summarised six months earlier by Dr Jože Pučnik in his historic words "Yugoslavia is no more. Now, it is about Slovenia."

These words and this sentiment ought to be so self-evident that repeating them on festive occasions such as today would be completely redundant. Regrettably, however, we are a country that has had to establish the Museum of Slovenian Independence not once, but twice. We are unique in the entire world in that one of our governments abolished a museum dedicated to the creation of our own state.

Thus, things that are taken for granted everywhere else are not yet so self-evident here. But it is high time they became so. And they will. One particular reason for optimism today is the younger generation. For years, we have listened to predictions that young people would grow increasingly alienated from Slovenian history, identity and the values on which our country was founded. Yet, more and more young people are showing an interest both in their roots and their culture, as well as in what Slovenia should be like in the future. This is a good sign. A nation whose youth takes responsibility for the shared future while remaining aware of its identity can look to the future with greater confidence. However, we all share the responsibility of passing on to them not only a country that is not only safe, but also prosperous.

After 35 years of living in a sovereign state, we have much to be satisfied with. Our GDP per capita has increased sixfold, rising from EUR 5,100 to EUR 33,000. Throughout the terms of various governments, our achievements have taken us forward. The key drivers of progress and, at the very least, of our fundamental stability throughout these decades have primarily been the resilience of the Slovenian economy, local self-government and the Slovenian family. To a certain extent, we have also succeeded in improving those aspects of quality of life that depend on state-level decision-making, but not enough. The main technical and externally visible obstacles have been excessive centralisation and bureaucratisation, alongside many others.

After 35 years of living in an independent state, it is only right that we celebrate all that is worthy of celebration. However, a clear-eyed view of the situation is also necessary. We are facing serious challenges in terms of public finances, as well as public, energy and food security in the face of excessive taxation. To tackle these effectively, we need to take a realistic approach. We need to secure the cooperation that would enable us to make the necessary constitutional amendments. We need stability, both economic and political. To achieve the former, we need a fiscal anchor in the Constitution, and to achieve the latter, we need to change the electoral system. We also need decentralisation, and a greater devolution of decision-making powers and resources to the regional and municipal levels.

People are different. This is how it should be, and indeed, how it must be, in a democratic society. We have different opinions and political views, and we belong to different parties with different ideas about how public affairs should be managed. Yet history teaches us that, when faced with the most critical questions about survival and development, we must ultimately stand together. History also teaches us that excessive division and exclusion at all costs benefit no one.

The direction in which either path can lead us is perfectly clear today. Before us lie the stark facts and figures. We are part of European statistics, and we can objectively compare ourselves. This comparison reveals that our 35 years of independence have been divided into two halves. In the first half, driven by immense momentum, we progressed rapidly, reaching 91% of the European average in terms of purchasing power by 2008. However, in the second half, everything that unfolded caused us to remain exactly where we were in 2008 - just above 90%. Some of those who lagged significantly behind us in 2008 have caught up and even overtaken us. Why?

Above all, it is because of the politics of exclusion that has become the norm in Slovenian politics since 2008. We have a political camp that is the successor to that half of the opposition that did not vote in favour of an independent Slovenia, and it never extends a hand of cooperation when in power. Furthermore, it rejects the hand of cooperation even when it is offered to them while they are in opposition.

The political camp that pursues exclusion has been in power for 15 of the 18 years since 2008. Throughout that period, the politics of exclusion has remained at the forefront, often accompanied by public calls for purges and by abuses of the rule of law to settle scores with those who hold different views.

The first half was different. In 2006, for example, the Partnership for Development was signed with the Social Democrats and the Slovenian National Party. At a time of key reforms, it united different political forces and numerous stakeholders. Fifty-eight systemic laws were agreed upon, as was an amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. It is no coincidence that this very period of cooperation was also Slovenia's most successful period from independence to the present day. In 2006, we stood at 80 per cent of the European average. Just two years later, we were 11 percentage points higher - where we still stand today. When we stood together, we made the fastest progress. In just two years of cooperation, we advanced by 11 percentage points. In 15 years of exclusion, we did not advance by even one.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Exclusion is neither the legacy of Slovenia's independence, nor is it part of the values of the time that united us. It is not a path that can take us forward. This is especially true in an international and European environment which, in many respects, is even more demanding today than it was 35 years ago.

After the wave of optimism that accompanied the major enlargement, of which we Slovenians were also part, the old continent grew complacent. Amid a drastic fall in birth rates, it was overwhelmed by illegal migration. A green transition was set in motion too hastily. We became dependent on Russian energy, the American security umbrella and cheap Chinese products, which, to make matters worse, we even subsidise. Today, the EU's trade deficit with China amounts to one billion euros per day. One billion euros per day. In Ukraine, Europe's largest country, war has been raging for longer than the First World War lasted.

Unfortunately, the world is as it is, not as we would wish it to be. Europe's awakening to reality has been painful, and it is still far from complete. That is why the war continues - a war that would never have happened had Europe not neglected its own security or forgotten the very purpose for which the European Union was founded. The European Union was founded first and foremost as a peace project: to ensure that the horrors of the First and Second World Wars would never be repeated. Today, much is at stake, and as Slovenians and members of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, we bear our share of responsibility for our own secure future and that of Europe as a whole. Part of that responsibility is to defend our values and our way of life. Our home. Our rules.

Above all, however, we must breathe with both lungs. We must restore equality before the law and build a community in which an independent Slovenia is the unquestioned and deeply held conviction of every citizen, and in which every individual is not only permitted to dream, but is also given an equal opportunity to turn those dreams into reality through hard work and determination.

A free and democratic society is founded on the principle that those who create - or who created, even under circumstances more difficult than those we face today - deserve dignity, fair reward and due recognition for their work. They deserve to know that their contribution will not be lost amid the anonymity or irresponsibility of systems greater than themselves. In such systems, people feel insignificant. That is not our goal. Our goal is a Slovenia with the courage, ambition and knowledge to achieve its goals. For such a Slovenia, nothing is out of reach. We know how. We are capable. We are determined. With a clear vision, courage and cooperation, the opportunities before us are far greater than they may appear today. However, we also face a clear choice: either we cooperate as we did for most of the first half, or we exclude as we did for most of the second. Today, no one can honestly claim not to know the benefits of cooperation or the damage caused by exclusion. History also teaches us that those who exclude others may ultimately find themselves excluded. Independent Slovenia will never again turn the other cheek.

Despite the dismantling of institutions dedicated to the memory of Slovenia's birth as an independent state, independent Slovenia has never been defeated. It has never been overcome. It has simply been waiting for the right moment to rise again. And that moment has come. Gradually, step by step, a time is emerging in which we once again believe in ourselves, in our ability to move forward, and in the power of the unifying legacy and values of Slovenia's independence. It would be fitting that, at the next celebration of Statehood Day, here in this very square - the square that, despite threats, hostile tanks on the roads and fighter aircraft in the skies, accompanied Slovenia into sovereignty - we should finally unveil a monument to Slovenia's independence and statehood, bearing, alongside the words of Dr Jože Pučnik, the most important sentence in our history: "The Republic of Slovenia is a sovereign and independent state."

It is true that the credit for Slovenia's independence and statehood cannot be claimed solely by our generation, the generation that carried out the most fateful, final act. This is why we are humble and grateful for all the efforts and sacrifices made throughout our long, often difficult and thankless history. There were times that, in Cankar's words, we might describe as: "No mouth stirred, no tear moistened an eye; death hovered over our land..." And we still feel their consequences today. Yet we also believe in the legacy of that same Slovenian literary giant, who wrote: "No tear was shed in vain, and no drop of blood was spilled for nothing."

This is why, in our finally independent state, we owe a debt both to future generations and to the suffering endured by our ancestors. And we shall repay this debt by finally restoring the right to remembrance and by burying all our dead. Above all, we shall repay it by building a homeland of everyone and for everyone. A homeland for those who work from sunrise to sunset; for entrepreneurs who create opportunities; for farmers who feed Slovenia; for our soldiers and police officers who protect and defend it; for young people who dream of a better future; for grandparents who taught us to love Slovenia; for mothers and fathers who hold families together; for priests who care for our souls; for athletes, artists and every compatriot and citizen who carries their homeland in their heart.

Independence is not the preserve of a single political camp, a single generation or a handful of individuals. Rather, it belongs to all Slovenians and is, at the same time, our shared civic heritage. The Slovenian flag is not monochrome. Its three colours are all equal and of equal value, and each of us, in our diversity, can recognise ourselves in them. Yet the Slovenian flag bears a single national coat of arms: the symbol of what we share, embodied in Slovenian statehood. And this statehood must serve as the formal framework of a free and democratic society.

On Statehood Day, may the Slovenian flags that fly in salute to our homeland across Slovenia and among our compatriots around the world remind us of the courage and unity of the sacred time of Slovenia's independence. And may they remind us of the simple truth that we must build our common future on the values of the time that united us.

Happy anniversary, dear homeland. God bless Slovenia."