Branko Grims holds a master’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in geology. He has been a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for the SDS (Democratic Party of Slovenia) since 2004 and has served in various positions in Janez Jansa’s governments. During the previous legislature (2020-2022), he was chairman of the intelligence and security services oversight committee and a member of the justice, foreign policy, and constitutional committees.
Before the arrival of Robert Golob’s green, left-wing government, the European Commission was very concerned about press freedom in Slovenia. Has it shown the same concern about the new government’s attacks on the conservative press?
From the circle of the legendary Friedrich Von Hayek comes something to remember: “If liberals didn’t have double standards, they would have no standards at all!” A few weeks ago, Golob said that if they cannot attain all control over National Radio and Television of Slovenia legally, they will use “the other way.” The use of manipulation and brutal pressure on the national television broadcaster is what the leftists call “normalisation.” They use accusations and fines for ‘hate speech’ to attack and silence the conservative press and politicians. In Slovenia, we now live in a real Orwellian, 1984-esque society, or that of Germany in 1933, or that of Brave New World, whichever you prefer. Freedom of speech is a basic human right, and according to the European Convention of Human Rights, the government should not limit it in any way or interfere with it. But freedom of speech in Slovenia is under attack from the extreme left-wing government and its supporters. Slovenia is on the way to becoming a leftist totalitarian state.
Yet, the European Commission remains silent. In fact, unelected Brussels bureaucrats support Golob’s actions. Can you imagine how immense and angry the reaction from the European Commission would be if such actions were done by a right-wing politician? This is obviously a misuse of EU institutions for political pressure on member states and their independent institutions, to turn them to the extreme Left. That is completely against the Lisbon Treaty and all European legal acts. We must stop this, and that is why the European Parliamentary elections next year are so vitally important for all of us who want to live in a free society, where all human rights will be truly respected.
What has the Golob government brought to Slovenia?
The Golob government has produced exactly the same results as extreme leftists and socialism has throughout history to any country where they have interfered or ruled: a catastrophe, especially economic; human rights violations; and, most importantly, censorship.
After more than a year of the Golob government, Slovenia has now the worst results in industrial production in the European Union. In April, the EU achieved growth of 0.7%, which may be far from perfect, but at least it’s growth. Slovenia has fallen 7.9% during the same period, according to Eurostat. Under the Golob government, Slovenia has also had the steepest decline in retail sales of goods in Europe, recording a drop of 13.4%.
Our public healthcare system has crashed, and people have to wait for many months or even years for some treatments. This situation is worsening from month to month because of the Left’s ideology: They are trying to push out the entire private sector. It therefore isn’t surprising that they also support euthanasia, which I, of course, absolutely oppose.
We also have chaos on the roads, because the political parties that form the Golob government coalition have declared that they will stop constructing new roads. They say this is because they want to follow “the Left green agenda,” and that new roads are “not the final solution for climate crisis.”
Such absurd and fanatical left-wing measures are becoming increasingly common, but opposing them usually means being labelled an ‘extremist.’ I imagine it is the same in Slovenia.
Yes, as always in the past, the leftists divide people and try to dehumanize everyone on the center-Right and Right who is able to confront them with arguments. They repeatedly use the oldest tactic of leftist manipulation: Via the power of their media, they accuse others of all kinds of negative and aggressive acts that, in fact, only the leftists commit. That is why they try to impose as much censorship as they can. They are afraid that people will realise what is happening when they hear and see the truth. And if people learn the real truth, nobody would vote for the leftists anymore. That is also why they boost the ‘refugee’ agenda. Of course, they know that there are no refugees, only massive numbers of illegal immigrants, but they do not care. They desperately need new voters. Plus, this is just an ugly, dirty business for them, which is why we are all in danger: those who are coming and those who live in Europe.
The Golob government is also promoting the whole cultural Marxism agenda, as well as the ‘multi-culti,’ ‘LGBT+,’ and the false ‘green’ agenda. Along with my friends in the opposition, we are fighting against them with all our strength. Unfortunately, the leftists (or ‘the deep state’—the families that held power under the former communist regime, who maintain their influence today), also control the majority in the Constitutional Court of Slovenia. As a result, the court obviously issues rulings against the Slovenian constitution and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was ruled that we do not have a mother and a father, or a husband and wife, but only a “parent one” and a “parent two.”
Then the Golob government immediately proposed a law, through which it will implement the LGBT+ ideology, and with the governmental majority they pushed it through Parliament. And as the last part of the farce, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia has banned the holding of a referendum, although the referendum—the right to “exercise power directly”—is written in the constitution of Slovenia. So instead of ‘checks and balances’ separating legislative, judicial, and executive powers—which forms the basis of democracy—we now have a totalitarian and socialistic unification of powers that is dragging Slovenia in the same ideological direction.
Just a year ago, Slovenia was the safest country in Europe. Is this still the case?
Slovenia has been the safest country in Europe for many years. But the Golob government started to demolish the fence on our southern border with Croatia. They even did it publicly, as a celebration, in front of the TV cameras. That, of course, was an invitation to all illegal immigrants, especially those from radical Islamic countries. They are most certainly not ‘poor refugees.’
In the first 14 months of the Golob government, more than 50,000 illegal immigrants have broken through the border of Slovenia. For Slovenia, this is an unbearable number. By way of comparison: in 2021, the last full year of the Janez Janša government, it was five times less—that is, around 10,000. Worst of all, in the last meeting of ministers of the internal affairs of the European Union member states last month, our representative, Boštjan Poklukar, the Slovenian minister of internal affairs, agreed with the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, including mandatory relocation of the illegal immigrants and draconian penalties for rejecting them. The fine for rejecting just one illegal immigrant will be at least 20,000 Euros. For Slovenia, which is a small and densely populated country with many mountains, this is an act of treason, and it was committed without the prior consensus of the Slovenian Parliament. This most certainly violates our law and our constitution. We will demand accountability for it this autumn.
It is very difficult to get complete information about the crimes committed by illegal immigrants in Slovenia. For instance, a 17-year-old asylum seeker recently raped a 78-year-old woman. Slovenia is still quite safe, but unfortunately less safe than it was before, and as it could and should be. Under the extreme leftist government, things are getting worse every day.
Former Prime Minister Janez Janša is an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, as he demonstrated in his visit to the Ukrainian capital in the early days of the invasion, but among the government’s supporters are Putin-decorated politicians such as the mayor of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković. What is the Golob government’s position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
I am pretty sure that all the leftists everywhere are the same: two-faced liars and manipulators. The Golob government officially supports NATO politics and all European Union actions, including sanctions. But unofficially, all left-wing media is full of Russian war propaganda. That shows their two-faced policy, and that is why, in most polls, Slovenians are the biggest NATO sceptics in Europe.
Speaking of Janković, the mayor refused to take in the remains of those murdered by the communists in the Macesnova gorica grave, branding them traitors. What has happened to this issue?
As I said, under the extreme leftist government, things are getting worse every day. Jankovič is not only refusing to take in the remains of those murdered by the communists in the Macesnova gorica grave, he is also refusing to take in the remains of the Roma near Ljubljana, where partisans murdered a pregnant woman and many little children in the name of “protecting the socialist revolution.”
The Golob government canceled the day of remembrance for the victims of communism. That action is completely against European values. The resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism emphasizes that all victims should be honored with respect. In Europe, there is no other example of a lack of reverence for the dead nor of an anti-European act of socialist revenge against their victims and their families.
This is why I suggest that every single victim of totalitarianism in Slovenia should get a cross with his or hers name and surname on it. First, because it is an act of reverence, so his or her relatives can light a candle in their memory. Second, only then will young people in Slovenia see and understand that socialism has not ever been about ‘success, love, and equality,’ but always only about stealing, murdering, and suffering. And only this way, when the youth see all those crosses standing together, they could possibly understand how many innocent people were killed in Slovenia in the name of socialism and the worst murderers in Slovenian history will no longer be honoured: Tito, Kardelj, Kidrič, and Maček.
There are photos of prominent left-wing politicians in the government posing with Tito’s statue or next to symbols of the communist regime. Why is there such a fascination on the Slovenian Left with Tito and other communist criminals?
In Slovenia, leftists control all the main media, the public school system, almost all cultural institutions, and the entertainment industry. Young people are brainwashed. For them, socialism and cultural Marxism is ‘the only truth’ and is also ‘fashionable.’ Because they do not know the entire truth, and as a matter of fact, they know only some fragments of the real history, they do not see socialist leaders as murderers. They see them as ‘heroes, fighters for justice and for good.’ Dear God!
And furthermore, they see that if you support the Left, you are rewarded with many privileges. That begins in the public school system. Plus, leftist NGOs are financed by the Golob government, from the European Commission and EU institutions, from Soros and his foundations, and from many other entities.
This is important knowledge for young people and our society, so that the destructive chaos may end. I do not agree with those who believe that because the extreme Left has attained power over the institutions, we must build all anew on the Right. In some cases, such as the public school system and state institutions, that is impossible. So, we must vote for the Right and together push the extreme leftists and their ideology out of public schools and institutions. It will not be quick and easy, but it is the only way to protect our children, to protect our nations, and to protect our Europe.
Is Slovenian society reacting to the Golob government’s shift to the Left? For instance, has it lost support in the polls?
Things are getting so bad in Slovenia that this is ‘opening the eyes’ of many people. This can already be seen in the polls. But because extreme leftists in Slovenia control all the main media, this is a very slow and uncertain process. In just one year, they have created a real disaster, but in the polls they have lost only about one-third of their support. Also, polls in Slovenia are very often used as a tool for manipulating public opinion, instead of representing it. So, we can be sure only that public opinion is changing, but very slowly.
I strongly believe that the European Parliamentary elections next year will be a turning point. We must turn the European Union back to the values upon which it was created, and we must also return to our European Christian roots. We must understand that the only real treasures of Europe are its nations, cultures, histories, and traditions. Without Christian roots, Europe cannot exist. That is why so many historic churches are burning these days. If the extreme leftists manage to cut Christian roots out of Europe, it will never be Europe again and Western civilization will fall forever. The Right must win!
