Janša finds not everyone happy about good economic trends

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša expressed disappointment in parliament on Monday that some should be unhappy about the good economic results posted by Slovenia, urging the opposition to compete in who does better rather than doubt about incontrovertible facts.

In questions time Janša was asked by Zmago Jelinčič, the leader of the opposition National Party (SNS), and Mojca Žnidarič, an MP for the coalition Concretely, to comment on Slovenia’s performance, including in view of the Economist ranking the country second among 23 select OECD countries in terms how well it has coped with the economic aspects of the pandemic.

“The OECD comprises the most advanced countries in the world. Our impressions may vary but numbers are objective,” said Janša, noting that the ranking was made based on unquestionable data from the OECD, rather than the taste of journalists of the British magazine.

He said Slovenia not just preserved but also increased its potential during the pandemic, noting the households’ disposable income increased by 10%. “Looking at any period after 2008, never in a comparable period, including the pre-pandemic time, had the disposable income increased by 10% even if we borrowed more in most of the comparable periods.”

Janša argued it was “one thing to make general assessments based on feelings and tastes, which differ, and quite another to make assessments based on facts, figures, data” from the Statistics Office, Eurostat, EU Commission and OECD.

He dismissed suggestions about the government distributing freebies before the election by saying that if that were true it would mean the government had made up the pandemic and global energy price hikes.

“Instead of everyone being happy about Slovenia placing high in various rankings when we have good results, high economic growth, historically low unemployment, it makes some sad,” he said.

“It’s not necessary to compete by opposing something, it’s also possible to compete in trying to be better at something,” he said, urging the opposition to engage in competition who makes better proposals.

Janša also commented on a potential sale of a stake held by York fund in the tourism company Sava to a Hungarian asset manager. He said that unlike some other governments in the past, who were now pointing fingers, his “has nothing to do with this sale”.

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