Thursday and Friday, 24 and 25 May,  the so called center-left government of Alenka Bratušek in all haste pushed through the parliament  two votes on changes of the constitution: so called “golden rule” limit of the public debt and severe limitation of  the citizens right to organise referendums.  All this in spite of serious doubts expressed by many critical constitutional lawyers and economists, not to speak of the civil society and trade unions. The position and opposition is full of self congratulatory compliments  for their, for the first open left – right collaboration.  This collaboration that was in a concealed manner going on all the short history of independent Slovenia, has now been made public.  Masks have fallen. Slovenia is thus following by now clearly dysfunctional EU austerity measures, and pushing itself ever deeper into recession. At a time, when even the top EU bureaucrats and IMF people are admitting a failure of their policy. This seems  like Angela Merkel’s dictate  to traditionally submissive Slovenians. The best pupil in the class syndrome.

Meanwhile the protest movement have for the time being been pacified. Even if, due to the usual dynamics of such phenomena, this has been expected, there is a disappointment, because this happened before the symbolic humiliation of the citizens and rebells with the changes in the constitution. The protesters claimed that the sitting parliament has no confidence of the people and the same goes for the present government, that the movement declared provisional. This is proven by opinion pools. Nevertheless it was only  a couple of ten  protesters that gathered on three different occasions in front of the parliament and the government buildings.  The movement has disintegrated from within, proving not to be able even to coordinate the a simple time schedule for the protests. This has  no doubt been  helped by the infiltrated provocateurs.  A movement that needed no coordination  for gathering 20.000 to 30.000 a few month ago was all of a sudden not able to come to any agreement on anything at all. Ironically this happened as a result of several declared efforts to unify the movement. A lesson for the next round, that will without any doubt take place  this fall! Now there is some time  to prepare detailed political programs. On the basis of the last coordinated demands- goals, that were:

1. Immediate stop for (systemic) corruption

2. Immediate revision of the political system that enabled corruption

3. Stop of neoliberal policy