Although Slovene history can be traced back as early as 7th century, Slovenes never really lived in an independent society. Throughout history the current territory of Slovenia was part of many different states, including the Roman Empire, the Frankish Kingdom, the Habsburg Monarchy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The notion of "Slovenia" first emerged in the 19th century when the idea of "United Slovenia" took form in the minds of Slovene intellectuals; the programme demanded that all Slovene lands be united into one single kingdom under the rule of the Austrian Empire and that equal rights of the Slovene language in public be enforced. The concept became a reality only after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 when Slovenes became part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs as a self-governing entity, though Slovene autonomy was later abolished with the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. After WWII Slovenia became an autonomous political entity as a full-fledged republic within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Once united, twice divided
The end of WWII did not only reshuffle the political landscape but also profoundly cut through the social fabric of the Slovene nation, leaving in its wake a deeply divided society. For decades the one-party Communist system kept a tight lid over the opposition and anyone who did not toe the party line was cast aside. Nevertheless in the months preceding "The Decision" on 23 December 1990 the Slovene nation managed to come together at the crucial moment in time and present a united front, with all political currents calling for a positive vote on the plebiscite to form an independent state. The country was united when it mattered the most, resulting in the highest-ever turnout in Slovene history with 95% of votes in favour of an independent and sovereign Slovene state.
With the creation of the new state the perceived unity, however, was short-lived and the ghost of the past was finally released out of the bottle, making it patently obvious that the old differences stemming from WWII and post-WWII events had not been resolved and reconciled. This became evident once more when last month three prominent Slovene politicians Janez Janša, Lojze Peterle and Andrej Bajuk, all three Slovene Prime Ministers in the past, refused to take part in the proceedings of the honorary committee that will be presiding over the organisation of various celebrations tied to the events of Slovene Independence in the coming year. The crux of the dispute was the poster of the Ministry of Education which apparently linked the 20th anniversary of the Slovene Plebiscite with the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Liberation Front under the slogan Stisni roko v pest (Make your hand into a fist!). The opposition was critical of the insinuation that in their view represented a continuation of the old ideological struggle and accused the government of abusing the educational system for harbouring old political resentments in what was perceived as a display of the "fist" to the "old adversary". The position responded by saying that it condemned all forms of boycott and expressed its view that a certain part of Slovene politicians still saw Independence as their own exclusive project, which in their opinion was an indication of the immaturity of present-day Slovene politics. Another thing that managed to raise a few eyebrows was the fact that two separate celebrations were held to honour the 20th anniversary of the Slovene Plebiscite; first the Veterans of Slovene Independence held their own ceremony, consisting of prominent opposition leaders and other members, on 23 December 2010 and later that same day the government held its separate state celebration as well.
Growing pains of a new democracy
In one of his recent interviews one of the main authors of the current Slovene Constitution and President of the Slovene Assembly during emancipation, Dr France Bučar, lamented over the fact that Slovenes had not yet managed to accept their state as their own. In his opinion Slovenes still regard the state as something foreign, which to a certain degree is understandable since Slovenes had always lived as part of multinational political entities in which they had been seen as foreigners or at least a minority; this has led to the creation of a deeply-rooted defence mechanism directed against the state that cannot not be reversed overnight. This mistrust of the state and treating it as something that is us, but is not us, coupled with an opposition that in Bučar's view does not behave like a productive member of the country's politics, since rather than calling the government out on its mistakes it rather goes on spiteful rants and opposes everything the government does just because it is supposed to do so. This is a sign of political immaturity that is not a far cry from the general sentiment among the people who view Slovenia as stuck with a feeble government that lacks credibility and a sense of direction, and is on top of all way too preoccupied with itself. Thus we are faced not only with a political crisis but also an economic and social crisis with rising unemployment that will have to be dealt with one way or the other in the coming months, lest the many planned state celebrations pass with a bitter lingering aftertaste.
2011 - the year of celebration
The honorary committee will supervise the state celebrations centred round the 20th anniversary of Slovene Independence, the bulk of which will be held in 2011. In this way Slovenia will mark a host of 20th anniversaries, all of which represent pieces in the puzzle that led to the creation of an independent and sovereign state; thus on 26 June 2011 we will commemorate the date when Slovenia declared its Independence; on 27 June 2011 and 8 October 2011 Police Day and Customs Day will be celebrated respectively marking the date when 20 years ago the Slovene police clashed with the Yugoslav Army at Holmec and the Slovene Customs took control over the whole territory of Slovenia; 26 October 2011 will mark the date when the last soldier of the Yugoslav army left Slovenia and 23 December 2011 will mark the two decades of the Slovene Constitution.
One may only hope that the upcoming celebrations supervised by the honorary committee - which sent out invitations for participation to highly esteemed individuals, including key figures during the independence movement as well as today's most prominent politicians - will pass more smoothly and in a more pacifying tone than the one held at the end of last year honouring the 20th anniversary of the Slovene Plebiscite.
Source: The Slovenia Times