Slovenia is a small country and not just in physical size or because it has a population of 2.1 million. It has no real geopolitical status: it doesn’t shape the foreign policy or economy of other nations, but it is shaped by them. There is a prevailing belief in Slovenia, therefore, that we should focus on our soft power. Exceptional Slovenians will pull the country out of anonymity, putting the country on the map or securing recognition through their merit, this view holds.
This is why the achievements of basketball players Goran Dragić and Luka Dončić, professional cyclist Tadej Pogačar’s Tour de France victories, the two-time Olympic gold medallist Janja Garnbret, Laibach’s notoriety and Katarina Čas’s film roles are all framed as national opportunities.
But none of these Slovenian-born figures, however impressive, generate as much excitement as the former Melanija Knavs, now Melania Trump. When Donald Trump’s return to power made Melania the first lady again, the media response in Slovenia was predictable: state-run outlets largely downplayed the connection, but commercial media wasted no time promoting it as an opportunity.
Slovenia’s largest commercial television network, Pop TV (nomen est omen), aired an interview with Ivo Boscarol, a wealthy Slovenian businessman who attended the inauguration celebrations in Washington. His argument? The Slovenian government had missed a golden opportunity to use Melania’s presence in the White House to improve its ties with the US.
Now, as much as I enjoy cringing at Pop TV, I do take its influence seriously. It’s the most watched channel in Slovenia, meaning many Slovenians are likely absorbing and internalising this narrative. Some media commentators have even suggested that Melania might be a golden ticket in case “everything goes wrong”. I wonder if Trump’s rejection of the transatlantic alliance in favour of Vladimir Putin and his threat to launch a trade war on the EU mean that has already happened.
The problem with this thinking, however, is that it is not grounded in any reality. There is nothing whatsoever in Melania’s memoir to indicate that she has any interest in fostering a political or economic relationship between her adopted country and Slovenia. On the contrary, the few times she mentioned Slovenia during her first stint as Flotus, it was typically a reference to its “totalitarian past”, perhaps playing into the American fear and loathing of communism and socialism.
Melania grew up in the small town of Sevnica and she left to pursue a modelling career before Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. She has typically kept quiet about her Slovenian heritage, even though much of her family still lives here, and she supposedly speaks Slovene with her son. In her speeches, she has consistently framed the US as the ideal, the place to be, while Slovenia is, well, a place to forget. Perhaps that’s why she has never seen fit to visit Slovenia during her tenure as first lady.
But let’s entertain the hypothetical for a moment. What if Melania’s position did present a unique opportunity for Slovenia? It’s hard to imagine, given that very little is known about her personal political views – except that she opposed her husband’s stance on abortion, a rare divergence. Still, her decision to marry a problematic public figure and then remain married to a leader displaying authoritarian tendencies speaks volumes. There is a certain complicity in that choice: a tacit approval of Trump’s idea that humiliating Volodymyr Zelenskyy or making Ukraine surrender to Russia’s demands is the basis for peace; of his renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America; of his plan to rebuild Gaza but perhaps not for Palestinians; a nod to his gender essentialism, demonisation of immigrants, climate denial; and even, ironically, abortion bans.
So Melania could become Slovenia’s best opportunity to obtain a special relationship with a fascist regime in the making. Is that the opportunity Slovenia wants? I’m not naive – rightwing ideologies have supporters in Slovenia, and they no doubt look up to Trump. But funnily enough, I am more afraid of the neoliberal politicians in power, and the business elites of our country who see any connection – no matter how toxic – as a potential win. I would really like to know whether we are in danger of relations between Slovenia and the US being – as our hopeful prime minister wished on X after Trump’s inauguration – “further strengthened”.
For now, Slovenia is fortunate that Melania has yet to show any real interest in using her position to strengthen ties with the country of her birth. There is no diplomatic gambit to be made, no grand strategic move to consider. Any celebration of Melania in the White House will pass, if it hasn’t already, and with it – luckily – Slovenia’s fleeting hope of leveraging her for political gain. Perhaps our next global celebrity will offer a more constructive opportunity. Until then, Slovenia may be better served by focusing on building relationships based on shared values and long-term interests – rather than relying on the whims of problematic individuals.
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Ana Schnabl is a Slovenian novelist, editor and critic