Prime Minister Golob: We are building the four pillars of modern Slovenia

He initially congratulated the National Assembly for confirming a key Act on healthcare reform. "A key Act regulating healthcare has been adopted. This completes our first priority. It is now clearly defined what is permitted in the public healthcare system and which harmful practices will no longer be allowed," said the Prime Minister. He recalled that the Government had made a public commitment to strengthening the public healthcare system and would continue to do so in the future.

The Prime Minister highlighted the high costs of holding the legislative referendum on the Act Regulating the Supplement to Pensions for Outstanding Achievements in Arts. He stressed that extraordinary pensions in arts have existed for the past 20 years and that the Government merely harmonised the criteria for granting such pensions. "This referendum will cost us a total of EUR 6.7 million. Only to prevent maybe four artists from receiving an extraordinary pension. The annual amount of these four pensions is approximately EUR 60,000. A total of EUR 6.7 million of our citizens’ money will therefore be spent for purely political purposes," said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister went on to present the four pillars on which the current Government plans to build a modern Slovenia. "In its next term, this Government will continue to build Slovenia on four pillars, with a social state focused on the Slovenian people taking centre stage. The social state is what unites us most. We wish to give everyone the opportunity to develop their potential and provide the most vulnerable with a sense of security so that they know they can count on us," he said. He added that the Government would strengthen public healthcare, as well as social protection and care for the elderly.

The second pillar will be building a knowledge- and future-based society. "This is the first time in history that a country has decided to build a whole knowledge chain – from preschool to businesses and innovation," said the Prime Minister, expressing his wish that knowledge continues to be publicly available in Slovenia. "As this is not possible without investments, we put together an extensive package of legislative changes to ensure the resources for investing in knowledge," he explained.

As, according to the Prime Minister, knowledge must lead to added value, the third pillar of a modern state combines economic performance and development. "The third pillar is the economy – Slovenia’s competitiveness. Competitiveness does not begin with profits but with building an environment that lets the economy develop at a normal pace. Such an environment is fostered by balancing all fiscal indicators. Moderate deficit, falling public debt, above-average economic growth, below-average inflation and low unemployment – all of this has been achieved by this Government," he said, emphasising the Government’s success as regards foreign investments, especially in the pharmaceutical industry where Slovenia has become one of the most desirable destinations.

Finally, the fourth pillar of modern Slovenia according to the Prime Minister consists of defence and security. "In light of the atrocities happening around the world, we are coming to terms with the fact that we must be able to stand on our own two feet. We must build a security system as resilient as the one we used to have. A system not aimed at war, therefore encompassing more than just weapons, but a system that can empower each of us to be able to help our loved ones or neighbours in case of a natural or other disaster. So that all of us together can build a resilient society. That is what the Government has been building since the first day of its term," said the Prime Minister.