EU media on Janez Janša: Return of divisive politics and deep disagreements, return of the "prince of darkness"

The return of Janez Janša to the head of the government in Slovenia is seen by some media outlets in the European Union (EU) as a return to the politics of division and deep disagreements not only in that country, but also in EU institutions, as interpreted by "Deutsche Welle" and "Euobserver".

The Brussels-based portal "Euobserver" points out that Janša, "as a close ally of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Donald Trump, was well known for his combative rule in which free media, independent courts and Brussels officials were considered enemies."

Given the experience with Janša's previous moves and policies as prime minister on three occasions, "Euobserver" sees this as "the return of the 'prince of darkness'", which is the concept of evil and the devil in the Judeo-Christian tradition, particularly embodied in the poem by the English poet John Milton and the film by John Carpenter.

And he warns that the European Council, which includes the presidents or prime ministers of EU member states, "will have a new headache because this populist will push Slovenia deeper to the right."

The German portal "Deutsche Welle" states that Janša, whose party did not win the elections, has managed to put together a coalition that is already "deepening divisions, both historical - when it comes to Nazi collaborators killed at the end of World War II - and current ones over tax cuts, which unions say will further enrich the rich at the expense of public services."

"Euobserver" states that "Janša has always been a controversial figure and phenomenon, with a biography that shows that he was imprisoned twice - in 1988 for revealing military secrets as a journalist (which is now considered a feat of courage) and in 2014 for a court conviction for corruption (later overturned)". The Brussels portal reports the belief of Slovenian socialist member of the European Parliament Matjaž Nemec that "Janša's ruling coalition may also demand the dismissal of Slovenian European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos - which could be seen as part of a long conflict with the Kos family".

Janša, however, supports EU membership for Ukraine and the Western Balkan countries.

The Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament has met the formation of Janša's new government with great criticism, labeling it "Trump's Trojan Horse", with a demand that the right-wing conservative group of the European People's Party expel Janša's SDS party from its membership.

In Slovenia itself, taking into account the fact that the then-ruling social-liberal party of Robert Golob had won a narrow victory in the elections, the formation of Janša's government caused deep political divisions.

Thus, economics professor Jože Damijan assessed that Janša's program provides the right solutions for the development of finance, economy, infrastructure, public administration, education, healthcare, demography, and the natural environment.

While the weekly "Mladina" took the opposite position, saying that "the new coalition proposes a mixture of right-wing militant politics and arbitrary market economics, wrapped in economic pragmatism supposedly oriented towards the people."