By: Anamarija Novak
With the current results, after which the referendums on RTVS, the government and long-term care failed, SDS MP Branko Grims strongly doubts that people were fully aware of the content of their decisions. He judged that they voted for higher taxes, a higher RTV contribution and an ideological monolith on RTVS and gave up long-term care rights for at least a year.
SDS representatives monitored the results of Sunday’s referendums at the party’s headquarters in Ljubljana, where party president Janez Janša was not present because he was abroad at the time. For now, he only responded on Twitter, where he wrote that people voted FOR because they thought they were defending their rights. “With a 99% media monopoly, how can they be deceived next time,” asked the SDS champion. Regarding the amendments to the law on the government, he wrote that the result of over 40 percent for the SDS proposal to reject the law is “purely OK” from the point of view of political-party calculations. “But it is not OK from the point of view of our common interest, it is not OK for taxpayers, who are waiting for new costs supported by the majority,” he is convinced.
Grims: Thank you to everyone for voting AGAINST!
Already on Sunday, SDS MPs also responded. Branko Grims said in a statement to the media that before the referendums, there was a lot of media manipulation, misleading and false statements about what people were really deciding on. He thanked everyone who went to the referendum, and especially those who voted against the three laws and for “making Slovenia richer, more successful, pluralistic and having rights from sustainable care”. In such a situation, according to him, we have to ask ourselves what the situation is like in Slovenia, that “instead of the content, the discussion through the media was channelled into ideology and personal prejudices, who is for this and who is for that, instead of people deciding, what is better for them, what is better for their wallet”. “And then it is not surprising if the situation in Slovenia is more and more similar to those in Germany in 1933,” he added.
Jeraj: The media space is heavily tilted to the left
Alenka Jeraj said about the amendment to the Law on Radio Television Slovenia (RTVS) that it is similar to the regulation from the 1990s, which caused chaos and problems at RTVS. “According to the law of 2005, this was regulated, but every time a right-wing government was in power, we witnessed emergency situations. At that time, they shouted about censorship, pressure on journalists, the takeover of RTVS and the like. This shows that our media space is heavily tilted to the left and does not allow for pluralism,” Jeraj said. According to her, with the manipulation that the law withdraws politics from RTVS, in reality government policy comes through the side door to RTVS. She thanked everyone who voted against the amendment. “Unfortunately, there were not enough of us, and so we are getting a completely political Golob’s TV, which will be financed by the citizens through a higher contribution,” she said and assessed that with this day we are moving away from democratic standards in the field of media.
Černač: The people have gained nothing
Member of Parliament Zvonko Černač estimated that people did not gain anything as a result of the results, but many will lose their acquired rights, namely the weakest will lose the most – the elderly, the disabled or those who need help from others, “because their rights will be delayed for at least a year from the Long-Term Care Act”. According to him, this law involved the most lies and manipulations on the part of government representatives. People were threatened with the loss of their existing rights, “but due to the false propaganda of the government parties, many thought that they were voting for the regulation of the area, which was regulated by the law adopted a year ago”. “They are also losing people’s wallets, because through higher taxes people will have to finance the ministerial chairs of political losers who were not elected to parliament by the voters in April. Tomorrow, very symbolically, the government coalition will adopt a law that abolishes the income tax law of the previous government, which brought about a gradual reduction of taxes and, as a result, a rise in wages for everyone,” he added. Otherwise, the law is rejected in the referendum if the majority of voters, who’s vote was valid, voted against it, provided that at least one fifth of all eligible voters vote against it. Partial unofficial results after almost all counted ballots show that the voters in the referendums approved all three laws with a majority vote FOR.
ZNP: The result must be accepted
The president of the Association of Journalists and Publicists (ZNP), Matevž Tomšič, said in a statement to POP TV that the result of the referendum on Radio Television Slovenia should be accepted as it is. Apparently, the government still enjoys sufficiently high support, which is understandable, since it has only been in power for half a year, and it maintains its penetration, Tomšič believes. Those who voted for the ruling parties took part in the referendums, he estimated. They have to accept the result, he said, because it is a democratic form of decision-making, whether they like it or not. However, they will warn of potential problems if there is even more intense politicisation, he said. He hopes that the governing bodies of RTV, which will be formed under the new law, will be formed in a way that will allow for neutrality and impartiality in reporting.
The response of the general management of RTVS
In a written response to the partial unofficial results of Sunday’s referendum on the amendment to the RTVS Act, which was approved by the voters, the general management of Radio Television Slovenia announced that they will continue to strive to maintain the public’s trust. According to them, RTVS remains loyal to its mission, credibility, professionalism, and quality. As stated on the institute’s website, dialogue, acceptance of criticism and respect for the rule of law are the main guidelines for the existence of any public radio and television station. They emphasised that RTVS will continue to operate in accordance with legislation and all legally defined procedures and in the broadest interest of the public. The amendment to the Act on RTVS regulates the management and control of RTVS.
Will the Constitutional Court decide?
After the unofficial results of the vote on the referendum on the amendment to the law on RTVS, which indicate the implementation of the law, the president of the programme board of Radio Television Slovenia, Peter Gregorčič, emphasised that after the publication of the law in the official gazette, he would turn to the constitutional court. According to him, they have been preparing the starting point for the initiative to start the procedure for reviewing the constitutionality of the amendment to the Act on RTVS for some time. They want it to be prepared in such a way that the Constitutional Court will judge its content and not discard it for procedural reasons, he explained. Such substantive decision of the Constitutional Court, regardless of its outcome, seems extremely important to him, because it will represent the rules of the game in the future. He commented on the results as expected. When asked if he is thinking about applying for a programme councillor in the future, he replied that he has not thought about it yet.
Burger: It makes sense to reduce expenditures in the public sector
The result of Sunday’s referendum shows that the Act on Amendments to the Act on the Government of the Republic of Slovenia will enter into force, increasing the number of ministries from 17 to 20. Economist Dr Anže Burger is convinced that there will definitely be slightly higher expenses for the operation of the state administration. “It will be about higher costs related to officials (ministers and secretaries of state and cabinet jobs). I hope that, at least in terms of other employees, administrative redundancies will occur and that there will be no additional employment in the civil service,” he added, and regarding the very expediency of the expansion of the bureaucracy in the times we are witnessing and that is coming, he said that at this time, it makes sense to reduce expenditures in the public sector, to reduce the number of ministries. “This law, which will obviously be adopted now, is pointless from this point of view, because we have an ineffective state administration. Countries like Switzerland function with a much smaller number of ministries,” he concluded.
The outcome of the referendums
According to partial unofficial results, 56.65 percent of voters supported the amendments to the Government Act on Sunday, while 43.35 percent voted against them. 62.23 percent of voters voted for the implementation of changes to the long-term care law, while 37.78 percent voted against it. At the referendum, 62.8 percent of voters supported the amendment to the Law on Radio Television Slovenia (RTVS), while 37.20 percent voted against it.
The share of those who voted for the laws was the highest in the constituency of Postojna, the lowest in the constituency of Ptuj, where the changes to the law on the government were the closest; 50.85 percent of them were in favour, 49.15 percent were against. Among the 88 electoral districts, Koper I was the one where the support for the laws was the most convincing; it reached 80 percent for the amendment to the Act on RTVS and the amendments to the Act on Long-Term Care, and 75 percent for the amendments to the Act on Government. The district where the implementation of the laws was most opposed was Ribnica-Dobrepolje, where 63.36 percent voted against the implementation of the amendments to the Act on Government, 58.82 percent against the implementation of the amendments to the Act on Long-Term Care, and for the amendment to the Act on Public Broadcasting, there were 59.63 percent voters, who voted against.