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Prime Minister Janez Janša guest of the Planet TV show "Ura moči"

  • Former Prime Minister Janez Janša (2020 - 2022)
Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša was a guest on the show "Ura moči (The Hour of the Power)" on Planet TV, where he talked about his visit to Ukraine and the current situation in that country.
Prime Minister Janez Janša

Prime Minister Janez Jansa as a guest on the Planet TV show | Author Kabinet predsednika vlade

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In the conversation with the show's host, the Prime Minister described the situation in Ukraine as a tragedy. "What is happening in Ukraine is not only a tragedy for Ukraine and a threat to Ukraine, but also a threat to us." He added that we are not only dealing with Ukraine out of solidarity, because we were in a similar situation and we know how the Ukrainian people feel, but also for our security, our development and our future. If this war does not stop, it will have a drastic impact on the standard in Europe and we can very well forget about the aspirations we had. Slovenians cannot help Ukraine with fighter jets, interceptors or Patriot missiles, but we can help with feasible ideas, proposals and actions, and that is what we are doing."

Prime Minister Janša went on to talk about the journey to Kyiv, the preparations, the coordination with the European institutions, the agreement on when to inform the public and about the course of the meeting itself.  On his journey to Kyiv, he was accompanied by the State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Bojan Pograjc, and two officials from the Security and Protection Office. As the Prime Minister said, the implementation of the visit was uncertain until they crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border, adding that he himself thought the visit should be kept a secret, but Brussels decided otherwise. The European Union informed the USA and they reported to others, he said.

In the discussion, the Slovenian Prime Minister emphasised the unity of the Ukrainian people and politics after the attack and said that their unity is stronger than that of the Slovenian people thirty years ago.  He also said that they had met the government ministers in Ukraine.  "It is a young and qualified team of tired people, but people who know what they want.  That’s why Ukraine will never be defeated," stressed the Prime Minister, describing the situation as follows: "Kyiv is not surrounded, but is besieged from the east and the west. The traffic lights are working, the city is illuminated, it is far from being a defeated city."

Regarding Ukraine as a pre-election issue, the Prime Minister said that Ukraine is more than a pre-election issue. "What is happening in Ukraine goes beyond everything. We are dealing with Ukraine because it is something that will actually affect everything, our future, prices at shops, at gas stations..."

In the conversation, the Prime Minister also responded to accusations that "he is to Slovenia what Putin is to Russia", saying that "these accusations are made by those who have Putin's medals pinned to their chests", adding that it is interesting that Slovenia is one of the few countries where most of these medals have not yet been returned.

Referring to the coverage of national television and the report by Moscow correspondent Vlasta Jeseničnik, the Prime Minister said: "I think we would have got more accurate news if we had watched Russia Today. We don't need someone paid by us in Moscow to spread Russian propaganda. This is a disgrace for national television."

The Prime Minister also spoke about the support provided to Ukraine in their fight against Russia and the united positions of otherwise different political currents. "Everyone here understands that this is about something more, that this is about life. It is a question of defending our way of life, where everyone, but also every country, can choose its own way of life within certain, I would say, democratic frameworks. And that is what it is about now, and more and more people understand that."

In the second part of the programme, they discussed domestic political and pre-electoral developments. "We are working to make the result as good as possible, and on 24 April we will fight until 7 p.m. We will do our best to form a solid coalition that will actually work on the development of Slovenia. My intention is also to ensure that the Slovenian Democratic Party, and we have been working on this practically from the very beginning, has a solid, strong staff base, so that the party will not disintegrate when I am no longer President." On post-election cooperation, he said that "after the next elections, we may be close to forming a coalition that is a little more diverse, but which could also achieve a constitutional majority for some of the necessary changes. "Until the elections, it is those who appear on TV who lead, and after the elections it is those who sit in Parliament. Today, too, there are people on the opposition benches of the Slovenian Parliament who are perfectly reasonable." He added that not everything is as black as it seems when you watch Ms Tanja Starič on national television.

The Prime Minister also touched on the reappearance of Milan Kučan and the activities of NGOs. "I welcome the fact that Milan Kučan, former President of the Party and of the country, is openly entering the arena. It's still better to see him in public than behind the scenes." The Prime Minister added that it was a little strange that he had participated as a speaker at the protests in question, which had not been registered. "What does he need this for, with a pension of five thousand euros?" The Prime Minister also said that NGO events were also taking place in some other countries and that this was a systemic problem and a violation of Slovenian legislation. "If you want to take part in an election campaign, you need to open an electoral account. But they are doing it outside the law, just as they have organised a hundred illegal protests and don't care a straw about the law."