Prime Minister Janez Janša at the Managers’ Association Congress
SLOVENIA, October 1 - At the outset, the Prime Minister noted that Slovenia has now been an independent country for 35 years and can no longer look to others for explanations for its shortcomings. He stressed that Slovenia must compare itself with the best-performing countries in the European Union, as such comparisons provide a clear measure of its progress. Despite the country’s considerable potential, he said Slovenia had lost momentum in recent years. He identified the Slovenian economy and local self-government as the two main pillars of the country’s stability and success.
“The resilient Slovenian economy was very quick to replace the markets lost after independence with European ones. It is export-oriented and has proved resistant to many crises,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Slovenia’s private sector is currently the least indebted in the euro area.
He also praised mayors and the functioning of local self-government, where, in his view, taxpayers’ money is spent more efficiently because decisions are taken closer to those who generate the resources.
At the same time, the Prime Minister warned of an oversized state apparatus and excessive bureaucracy. He pointed to structural imbalances, a sharp increase in public-sector employment despite declining birth rates, and the burden of inherited obligations that the Government must address as part of the budget revision and public-sector pay reform.
Despite these challenges, the Prime Minister said there were grounds for optimism. “The good news is that we are not underwater and sinking. These issues can be resolved without drastic measures or crisis-driven austerity,” he said.
He also highlighted encouraging economic growth forecasts, which according to IMF estimates exceed 3%, as well as a more favourable international environment, with Europe finally beginning to address the reduction of bureaucratic barriers and the protection of the single market more seriously.
Towards the end of his address, the Prime Minister referred to the referendum on the Development Act scheduled for December. He stressed that the decision would be highly significant for the country’s future, describing it as a choice between two different approaches – one based on development and the other on envy.
“The decision in this referendum will therefore be very important and will have a decisive impact on the environment in which you do business. Above all, it will determine whether knowledge, effort and sound management are valued, or whether we will continue to hear outbursts from the parliamentary rostrum suggesting that entrepreneurs should be driven into the sea with bayonets.”
“If a society is built on envy, the consequences are very real. Such ideologies always bring higher taxes and more regulation, and the spiral moves downwards. You can even go so far with new tax rates – and Slovenia is already close to the limit – that you ultimately collect substantially less revenue and everything ends up worse. Yet some are satisfied with that, simply because no one else is better off.”
The Prime Minister thanked the managers for their efforts and stressed that a clearer vision of where Slovenia should be in ten or twenty years’ time would emerge once the country had successfully overcome its current challenges.
He wished the participants a successful congress, an abundance of good ideas and congratulated them on the work they had accomplished.
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