Address by the President, Dr Danilo Türk, to the newly elected members of the National Assembly
Ljubljana, 15.10.2008 | speech
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, attended the constituent session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, where he addressed the newly elected members of the parliament.
Address by the President at the constituent session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia
Ljubljana, 15 October 2008
Mr President of the National Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen of the National Assembly,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please allow me to begin this speech by offering congratulations – by congratulating you, Mr President, on your election to this important and responsible position, by congratulating all the elected members of the National Assembly, and by extending best wishes for successful and fruitful work for the common good of our country. A week ago I thanked the members and ministers of the previous National Assembly, and today I have the opportunity to address you and, first and foremost, to congratulate you on your election.
I would particularly like to congratulate the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, the voters, on this year’s elections, on this most important act of democracy.
In Slovenia power is vested in the people, as stipulated by the Constitution. Again, as stipulated by the Constitution, the citizens exercise their power directly and through the elections following the principle of separation of legislative, executive and judicial power. The principle of separation of powers is essential to securing the power of the people.
This year’s elections proved that the people of Slovenia, its citizens, voters, take democracy seriously. Slovenian voters are critical and sceptical; they always exercise their voting right with a great deal of common sense and political feeling; they always entrust their elected representatives with responsibilities and expect them to fully justify that trust. We, the elected office-holders, must therefore constantly and seriously think about our responsibility and justify the trust with our results.
Democracy in Slovenia is in good shape. Maybe it misses some elements of maturity which are brought about in the longer term; some of our political divisions might be rooted in ideology and too closely tied to typical Slovenian stubbornness. Nevertheless, we have proven throughout our history and particularly in the last two decades that Slovenians do know how to decide with responsibility and seriousness when making important and historic decisions such as independence and the establishment of the sovereign state of Slovenia, as well as when making more practical and common decisions.
Europe and the whole world recognise the level of maturity we have achieved. It was not by chance that Slovenia was entrusted with the presidency of the European Union as the first of the new EU Member States. And it is not by chance that Slovenia discharged this important task successfully and responsibly. A special acknowledgement goes to the Government in the previous legislative period for their successful work, and thus for strengthening Slovenia’s position in the family of European nations. The level and maturity of our democracy enabled this task, which engaged the public administration and political structure of our country, to be successfully carried out.
Honourable members of the parliament,
That stage of the democratic process where the competitive nature of political pluralism is most pronounced – that is, the elections – is over. The time following the elections is the time for deliberations regarding the priorities and methods of future action. The parliament, our National Assembly, is the focal point of this work. It is a legislative body and a platform for discussions. It is a marketplace of ideas and a place for harmonisation. It is a place of confrontation between the government and the opposition, and a place of synthesis. All this opulence of the parliament’s functions needs to be carefully tended. It is not good if the parliament is reduced to a voting and voting-out machine. The seeming efficiency of such practice diminishes the quality of decision-making. Good decisions arise from careful consideration, in well-reasoned debate, in the exchange of arguments and the accomplished formulation of decisions. Quite often, such process demands more time. It is the estimate of how much time and discussion will be required that reflects the political wisdom of decision-making, the cogency of decisions and their long-term value. Within this framework, the capacity to find a common language and to seek the widest possible consensus on significant issues of our development will be of utmost importance. This too will reflect the art of politics.
By its nature, politics is basically local and short-term. It is, however, proper that in the process of decision-making, the wider, even international context and the long-term impact of a decision is considered, particularly when the circumstances make such an approach absolutely necessary.
In the coming period, Slovenia will have many reasons to consider the international situation in which decisions will have to be taken, as well as the long-term implications of these decisions. The current developments in the international financial system show signs of disintegration. New solutions will be required, and it is questionable whether they will be good and comprehensive enough to eventually enable us to talk about a new and a better global financial system. The period of search will demand that all countries take clear positions, including ours. Prudence and timeliness of decisions will be required. The tasks of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia will be exacting. It will, therefore, be very important that appropriate discussion and counselling are carried out in the National Assembly, whereby the widest possible support to government policy should be achieved.
The role of the state and politics will in these circumstances be irreplaceable. To rely on economic and financial actors will not be enough. Only the state and its citizens can ensure adequate solutions and the arrangements required by our time. The issue at stake is not only to prevent the recurrence of threats brought about by the deregulation and irresponsible financial and credit operations in certain financial centres of the world. Much more is at stake – namely, the pressing need for a new international financial architecture. In this process Slovenia will, of course, not have a decisive vote, but it will also not be deprived of its vote.
Slovenia will, above all, have to be particularly resourceful in the changing situation. This, however, will require serious discussion and taking decisions on reforms: reforms to alleviate the burden on the real economy and to make room for entrepreneurship and creativity; reforms to modernize social security and to ensure pension regulation which will survive in the long run and take into account demographic developments in our country. We often hear that crises also mean opportunities, not only threats. Quite so! However, the opportunities must first be discovered and then also seized. The role of the National Assembly in all this is crucial.
The requisite solutions should ensure our long-term development and the transformation of our society into a knowledge-based society. Human potential is our most valuable asset, and knowledge its greatest power. This potential will have to be well used. In so doing, we should not be afraid of the necessity to adequately invest in science and knowledge, in technological transformation and technical development. We should not refrain from developing environmentally friendly green technologies, which would ensure technological progress and the necessary mitigation of the global warming impact. The reforms we need will have to be universal and will require readiness to innovate.
Honourable members of the parliament,
Today is the day when it is appropriate that we be aware of the extensive tasks before this National Assembly. The coming months and years will be a time for detailed discussion and competent decision-making. Legislative activity is of course a critically important part of this decision-making. The importance of the legislative process lies not only in the sound substance of decisions, or in well or poorly thought-out laws and acts. The quality lies also in the best assurance of the authority of the legislative work and authority of the entire system of our public institutions. This authority, however, is of crucial importance for trust in the state – the kind of trust that provides citizens with a sense of security and faith in the future, faith in our further and successful development.
It also implies the strengthening of our sense of belonging to our country, the confidence in our homeland. It concerns the up-to-date substance of our patriotism. Today, this patriotism is reflected not only in our concern for our language, our culture and the preservation of our independence gained through sacrifice. These ingredients of patriotism are incontestable and obvious. We have to cultivate them on a daily basis. We have to understand, however, that patriotism nowadays requires more than that – it requires the self-confidence brought by development and technological proficiency, and a manifold upgrading of quality in our society. The more our homeland is capable of ensuring development and social justice, the stronger the patriotism in our country will be. The more successful we are in preventing pathologies such as getting rich in unjustified ways and corruption, the greater the confidence of the people in the state and the stronger their patriotism. The more our foreign policy is principled and firm, both in relation to the world and in relation to our neighbours, the greater our confidence and the stronger our patriotism. The more successful we are in eliminating stubbornness and envy from our political activities, the greater the confidence of the people in political representatives and the stronger their patriotism.
Patriotism is an indisputable value today, and its strength will be measured by the quality of our development and our country. It is also for this reason that every effort has to be made to enhance the authority of institutions providing this quality, for the authenticity of the rule of law, for the respect of human rights and for social solidarity.
The National Assembly plays an indispensable role in terms of these issues. However, the National Assembly does not stand alone in this role. Consistent respect of distribution between the branches of power and observance of independent tasks and independent responsibilities of the executive and administrative branches will be of great help to the National Assembly. Everyone can best contribute to the common good if he/she performs his/her own task well. Thus the National Assembly has every right to insist on the efficiency and independent responsibility of the executive branch of power, and on the independence and proper authority of the judiciary.
Sometimes decisions of the National Assembly are called for to this effect – for instance, those that involve implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court. By adopting good decisions and by requiring them from others, the Constitutional Court enhances the authority and independent role of the judiciary and of the comprehensive system of state institutions. It was precisely towards enhancing the Constitutional Court’s authority that my concrete suggestions were intended a few months ago, including the required amendments to the Constitution, the suggestions that I presented to the National Assembly in the preceding session. I am satisfied that these suggestions have already obtained wide public support. I hope that in this session, the National Assembly will successfully continue and complete the process of Constitutional amendments, which will consolidate the Constitutional Court and in consequence our whole judicial system. We urgently need this consolidation in order to provide for the appropriate quality of the rule of law and thus our further development.
Honourable members of the parliament,
The thoughts I share with you today are the thoughts expressed currently by many citizens in this or another way. We live in a time of hope and insecurity. It will depend on our joint efforts how quickly we will be able to provide circumstances in which hope and trust will irreversibly prevail. However, for successful progress in this direction, we need good government. I am pleased that I can already tell you today that I will, in the shortest time possible, hold the necessary consultations with parliamentary groups and will nominate candidates to be given a mandate to form the new Government. We cannot afford any loss of time. The will of the people expressed at the election was clear, and my task is to contribute to the constitution of the new National Assembly and to the formation of the new Government with the activities imposed by the Constitution and with the necessary consultations – and all this in the shortest time possible. And I intend to act in this way. I believe in good cooperation between all parliamentary groups, and I am convinced that the further government formation process will soon be completed successfully.
Honourable members of the parliament, Mr President of the National Assembly,
I began this speech with congratulations. Allow me to conclude it with my expressions of trust and anticipation. You have been given a mandate for a demanding task in complex times. There is no doubt that by solid work and good cooperation we are, even in these times, capable of finding good solutions to all the questions troubling our homeland Slovenia. In this connection, your work will be of key importance. May wisdom accompany your work. Let the legislative period commenced today be recognised by history for the superior quality of laws and other decisions. Let this be the best of our times.
Thank you.