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LJUBLJANA — It’s a story known around the world: A village girl from a communist country rises to become the first foreign-born United States first lady in more than a century.
But according to locals, much of Melania Trump’s early life — particularly her background and the history of the small Austrian-influenced Slavic country split between Central Europe and the Balkans — has been heavily exoticized for American audiences.
“The mischaracterization and misinterpretation of our people certainly angers those of us in Slovenia,” Srečko Ocvirk, the mayor of her hometown of Sevnica, told POLITICO.
“The quality of life and level of development of our country was not represented in a factual manner,” he continued.
Ocvirk remembers how, a decade ago, film crews and reporters from around the world descended on his picturesque hamlet, nestled between lush forests and mountains along the Sava River, eager to uncover juicy stories about the childhood of the woman once known as Melanija Knavs.
When their search yielded little to go on, they defaulted to the familiar rags-to-riches narrative often attributed to individuals — especially women — originating from Eastern Europe.
In her recently published autobiography, Melania challenges this narrative, echoing many of the sentiments often expressed by Slovenes when discussing her portrayal. While Slovenia was part of the socialist federation of Yugoslavia, it was far from resembling the Soviet Union in terms of general quality of life, individual rights and its relationship to the West.
‘Real life in Slovenia’
Slovenia stood out for its industrial and cultural development during and before the 20th century. Melania’s hometown was home to renowned textile manufacturers like Lisca and Kopitarna shoemakers, tracing its roots back to the early days of 19th century industrialization.
With Donald Trump being inaugurated on Monday for another term, the initial shock value of having an American first lady who speaks accented English seems to have somewhat worn off the second time around. “The reporting has become much more balanced, and in a way, journalists and media companies seem to have finally caught up with real life in Slovenia,” Ocvirk said.
Despite their ire, inhabitants of “Sevnica are happy for” the U.S. first lady, he said. “We perceive [Melania’s return to the White House] with satisfaction and pride, above all, those citizens who know the Knavs family and are their friends,” he concluded.
Slovenian film director Jurij Gruden also felt the “Melania effect” when he decided to make the first documentary-length production on the first lady. He admits that he wasn’t particularly interested in her life until his foreign colleagues pointed out that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for his home country — one worth documenting.
“While making this documentary, I also got to experience what it means to be part of the Trump ecosystem in terms of the attention, but also at times the immediate and automatic condemnation it draws, even when you’re just doing a documentary,” he said.
The reactions of colleagues and others was harsh when he told them what he was working on. “The polarization is insanely strong and it immediately affects you when you cover her or the Trumps in general,” explained Gruden.
“It’s difficult to have a rational conversation, no matter what side of the political spectrum you belong to,” he said.
‘An atypical Slovenian’
Both Gruden and Ocvirk stressed that their interest in or support of Melania Trump was not a political endorsement of the policies of her husband.
Do Slovenes resent Melania for anything? Perhaps for being very un-Slovene in her limited relationship with the country.
“The reactions to Melania are still somewhat mixed. Some in Slovenia don’t like her because she seems to show barely any interest in [the] country itself, not having visited for many years,” explained Gruden. “This makes her an atypical Slovenian.”
This is despite the fact that both Melania and her son, Barron, speak Slovenian and hold European Union citizenship. Notably, she is also the first American first lady to be an EU citizen. The current president of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, was Melania’s lawyer before she entered politics.
Ultimately, the simplistic coverage of her background could boil down to the classic American disinterest in the complexities — and contradictions — of the old continent.
“I’m thrilled she’s back. It might not be easy for people in the U.S., but for those of us watching from the sidelines, it’s going to be entertaining to follow,” Gruden concluded with a laugh.
