Reporter berates Pahor for giving protest leader legitimacy

Ljubljana – Reporter magazine argues in Monday’s commentary that President Borut Pahor was wrong to receive Zoran Stevanović, a leader of the protests against the Covid pass mandate. The meeting gave Stevanović legitimacy and earned Pahor contempt from both left and right, the commentator says in Legitimacy.

“Pahor has been at the very top of Slovenian politics since 2008, but never before … has he been the target of such sharp and deserved criticism. Reconciliation and consensus-seeking are laudable in principle, but only when it comes to interlocutors who are worth striving for a consensus with.”

The commentator is surprised how Pahor failed to “recognise an opportunist who is willing to do any say anything to achieve his goals,” who leads a crowd that bleats madness about vaccines and deny the existence of a disease that has killed almost 5,000 Slovenians.

“At least Stevanović was considerate enough not to laugh at Pahor’s face when they sat at the same table, but he had every reason to laugh: he achieved more than he could have realistically imagined in the summer, when his campaign against vaccination was gathering steam,” according to Reporter.

“In October 2021, Zoran Stevanović is a worthy candidate in the coming election, and the president gave him and his ‘truth’ credibility and legitimacy. If Stevanović’s party Resni.ca (Truth) manages to enter parliament, he will be able to brandish his Pahor reception to prove that he is a politician with whom parties enter coalition talks.”

The post Reporter berates Pahor for giving protest leader legitimacy appeared first on Slovenia Times.

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