Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04LJUBLJANA599
2004-06-28 08:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ljubljana
Cable title:  

SLOVENIA: CENTER-RIGHT OPPOSTION PARTIES FORM NEW

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR SI 
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UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000599 

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: CENTER-RIGHT OPPOSTION PARTIES FORM NEW
GROUP WITH MEMBERS OF THE RULING COALITION IN ATTENDANCE

REF: A. LJUBLJANA 576

B. LJUBLJANA 597

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000599

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: CENTER-RIGHT OPPOSTION PARTIES FORM NEW
GROUP WITH MEMBERS OF THE RULING COALITION IN ATTENDANCE

REF: A. LJUBLJANA 576

B. LJUBLJANA 597

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Assembly for the Republic (AFTR) held
an inaugural public meeting on 23 June reuniting DEMOS
members, drawing like-minded academics, and gathering
considerable media attention (ref A). The AFTR continued to
press its message for inclusion and national renovation in
an attempt to rekindle the spirit of the DEMOS movement,
which successfully sought Slovenian independence. Speakers
at the AFTR event also accused the ruling LDS party of
having been hijacked by a left-wing faction of "vulgar
liberals." The presence of FoMin Rupel, who returned to
Slovenia via charter plane from London in open defiance of
his party's (LDS) ultimatum not to participate, captivated
the audience and media present. [NOTE: PM Anton Rop
dismissed Rupel the following day. Ref B. END NOTE]. Peter
Jambrek, member of the Slovenian Democratic (SDS) Party and
newly designated AFTR President; former MP and MEP-elect
Alojz Peterle, New Slovenia (NSi); SDS President Janez
Jansa; and NSi President Andrej Bajuk, addressed the crowd.
Rupel, who was consequently dismissed as FoMin (ref B) for
his political realignment with AFTR, will not sail quietly
into the night. Furthermore, what he has to say in the
coming months about the LDS, and particularly about Rop's
leadership of the party, could have broad repercussions in
the political frenzy leading up to this fall's parliamentary
election. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On 23 June, PDO attended an inaugural public meeting
of the Assembly for the Republic (AFTR). The meeting was
held in the same venue where former President Kucan's Forum
21 was established, signifying the extent to which the AFTR
has modeled itself as a political counterweight and
alternative to Forum 21. Borut Pahor, President of the
National Assembly, one of the most popular political figures
in Slovenia and the leader of junior coalition partner
United List, attended the inaugural meeting as a "guest of
honor." Tine Hribar, a well-known philosopher, also spoke.

AFTR - NOT RIGHT, NOT LEFT, BUT FOR SLOVENIA
--------------


3. (U) Peter Jambrek, AFTR President, explained that the

Assembly was established as a public forum to discuss the
future of Slovenia as a NATO and EU member (ref A). He
explained that the AFTR was an "open forum" for all who
wished to join and unequivocally noted that it was neither
left-wing nor right-wing. "The purpose of the AFTR is to
find an alternative to the current situation in Slovenia and
put the country back on the right path." He mentioned that
the convening of the AFTR was an attempt to revive the ethos
of DEMOS and to gather a like-minded group of politicians
and intellectuals to once again set Slovenia on the right
path towards democracy. As he put it, DEMOS helped lead
Slovenia to independence, democratic rule, and a free market
in the late 1980's. A similar organization was now needed
to rectify the "grave problems" within Slovenian democracy.
Jambrek also pointed out the need to establish a genuinely
liberal market economy, calling for lower taxes, open and
fair competition, and less interference from the State.


4. (U) For his part, Peterle said that the AFTR needed to
stay the course of multi-partisanship and commented, "We
should stop those that are stopping Slovenia."

HRIBAR: LDS AS THE "VULGAR LIBERALS"
--------------


5. (U) A visibly nervous Tine Hribar stated that the LDS
coalition had led the country into an era of corruption and
false democracy, openly calling for the establishment of a
new center-right party patterned after DEMOS. He labeled
the LDS "vulgar liberals," claiming that the party had
perverted the true meaning of liberalism, and described the
LDS's style of governance as "Leninist" -- "if you are not
with us you are against us." Hribar also spoke of the need
to form a center-right party that would work together with
the Church, but that would also appeal to middle-of-the-road
voters.

JANSA: "MEDIA MONOPOLY"


--------------


6. (U) SDS's Jansa accused the ruling coalition of having
established a "media-financial monopoly" within Slovenia,
and claimed that certain opinions "never get printed in our
media." He also accused a "left-wing faction" within the
LDS of initiating a "culture war" by pitting different
sections of Slovenian society against each other. He did
say, however, that the participation of Rupel and Pahor in
the AFTR - both as representatives of the ruling coalition -
boded well for the future and for the establishment of a new
political order in Slovenia.

MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING COALITION SPEAK
--------------


7. (SBU) Invited as the guest of honor, Pahor was the only
governing coalition member besides Rupel to address the
group. In his opinion, there is no need to form another
version of DEMOS "because there is no radical conflict or
break up as there was 14 years ago." He did signal,
however, the need for change in the current political
situation by stating that more multi-partisanship was needed
because there can be no progress without it. [COMMENT: There
has been speculation that Pahor's attendance was to provide
"political cover" for Rupel, so that Rupel would not be the
only governing coalition member in attendance and,
therefore, have some added job security. The "cover,"
obviously, was not adequate, as Rupel's dismissal was
announced by Rop on 24 June. END COMMENT. ]



8. (U) FoMin Rupel received a noisy welcome as he made it
back to Ljubljana in time for the meeting despite the
attempts by the LDS leadership to prevent his attendance.
Rupel's Nova Revija friends funded a charter plane from
London to make sure the FoMin made it back on time. [NOTE:
In 1987, a group of Slovenian intellectuals that opposed the
Communists gathered around the periodical Nova Revija and
advocated abandoning the Communist system and introducing a
pluralistic democratic system in an independent Slovenian
state. This movement gathered steam and contributed to the
creation of the political coalition DEMOS in November 1989.
In the first democratic elections in April 1990, DEMOS
defeated the Communist successor party and formed the first
Slovenian democratic government with Lojze Peterle as PM,
Dimitrij Rupel as FoMin, and Janez Jansa as DefMin. END
NOTE]. On 21 June, the LDS Executive Council met to debate
Rupel's having signed the document establishing the AFTR,
and had instructed him not to attend the inaugural meeting.
PM Anton Rop, talking on behalf of the party, stated that
the AFTR is more of an "Assembly for the [opposition] SDS"
which is why the LDS expected that Rupel would refrain from
taking part "in meetings that go against the LDS." Rop,
however, added that the Executive Council does not have the
power to decide on Rupel's fate as minister, a decision that
only he and Parliament can decide.

PRESIDENT DRNOVSEK'S REACTION TO AFTR
--------------


9. (SBU) Earlier in the week, President Janez Drnovsek told
the press that he had nothing special to say about Rupel and
AFTR and added that too much attention is being paid to it.
He also stated that Slovenia is a free country where people
can freely express their opinion and freely take part in
gatherings of any sort. Finally, he assumed an apolitical
stance by asserting that the role of President must remain
distanced from political initiatives. [COMMENT: Still, we
think that Drnovsek is happy to see a group form to
counterbalance his rival Kucan's new Forum 21. END
COMMENT.]

COMMENT
--------------

10. (SBU) The Assembly for the Republic has not disguised
its aspirations to become the focal organization of
Slovenia's center-right and the principal challenge to
former President Kucan's Forum 21, the biggest alliance of
leftist politicians and industrialists. It remains to be
seen if the AFTR will remain a temporary alliance of
convenience or whether it will crystallize into a genuine
political organization uniting parties of the center-right.
The association with FoMin Rupel could play a role in


determining whether or not AFTR will be successful. The
left-of-center media have been highly critical of Rupel and
have generally been disparaging of AFTR. The Slovenian
daily Dnevnik called Rupel a "capricious and conceited
politician" and predicted that he would turn on this new
organization like he turned on his current party, LDS.
Rupel's dismissal from the government might indicate a
stronger identification with AFTR. Furthermore, what Rupel
has to say about the LDS, particularly Rop's leadership (or
lack thereof) will matter in an election where the political
factions (intra and inter party) may seek to redefine their
positions. The main question remains, however, whether or
not a significant political realignment will occur before
the fall national elections and, if it does and the center-
right emerges victorious, whether or not its constituent
parties will be able to put aside differences and rule
successfully. END COMMENT.


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