04 March 2013

Presseurop: Alenka Bratušek has her work cut out

In taking over from the minority government of Janez Janša, the new leader of the centre-left has a chance to tame the political crisis facing Slovenia. Unfortunately, a catastrophic economic situation awaits her.

The problems facing the Slovenian state are much bigger than merely Janša. Slovenia is peering into yet another year of alarming statistics without any certainly that the crisis has bottomed out. Forecasts suggest growth will be negative (-2 per cent), the budget deficit will widen to reach 5 per cent of GDP at the end of the year, and unemployment will beat the record of 125,000. Businesses are stifled by debt, big exporters are recording a slump in orders, and the banking system has joined the walking dead. It is no exaggeration to say that, five years into the crisis, Slovenia is almost "clinically dead”. Economic stagnation, accompanied by political excesses and moral deficits by the political and economic elites, have provoked widespread disenchantment and hopelessness.

Unlike Janša, Bratušek risks colliding with the people's awakened hopes, which will not make her job any easier. The spirit of rebellion is already out of the bottle. The unions, public sector employees and students have been gathering in the streets and squares for months. However, if it wishes to get the public finances in order, the new government will have to impose its unpopular measures on its base support. which poured out into the streets against the austerity measures brought in by Janša.

When it comes to getting the banks back into shape, the government will have to make some tough decisions. Taking into account the public's zero tolerance for the wayward habits of the political elite, the government must work on reforms and negotiate with the unions, in short, try to sort out the errors made by Janša and to find the missing money.

The scope of action of the new government will get clarified once that government is put together. If there is one piece of advice that might be offered to the new prime minister, it would be: don't build your strategy on (only) the return of the Ministry of Culture [disbanded by Janša] and cheap populism, which digs in behind the illusion that Slovenia can be shielded from change. More than ever before, the state needs action, not empty words. The survival of the new government depends on it.

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Original article Janše ni več. Kaj zdaj? © Dnevnik d.d.

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