By: Gašper Blažič
It does seem to hold true that the ruling coalition accuses others of exactly what it does itself. And more than that: in the run‑up to the elections, it is buying media favour with taxpayers’ money.
On the other side, the parliamentary inquiry commission led by Tamara Vonta (Svoboda) is expanding its scope because the coalition is in a hurry. This is why it even wants to bring some commentators from the show Ura resnice before the commission. The goal is to create as much noise as possible before the elections and tarnish the reputation of media outlets that the government does not control.
The coalition is in a great hurry
As mentioned, the coalition is rushing, especially when it comes to finances. Just before Christmas, they pushed through yet another amendment to the existing RTV law in order to legally secure additional funding for the broadcaster. At the same time, they casually amended the Public Finance Act so that no one could accuse them of unlawful reallocations of funds. This means the government will be able to spend even more money outside the budget plans, including from state reserves. “The purchase of the building on Litijska right after New Year’s (using money intended for flood victims), a decision previously made by Robert Golob and Boštjan Klemenčič, will no longer constitute a violation of the Public Finance Act,” warns journalist and editor Peter Jančič. He also cautions against the coalition’s crafty tactics: “In reality, they are giving RTVS only a few million more per year, while for the bulk, around twenty million, the ruling parties have merely legalised what they have already been giving outside the state budget plans and beyond the provisions of the law. They did not dare legalise more even now, because the opposition could launch a referendum procedure. And people are not exactly thrilled about paying even more for a broadcaster that most of them do not watch.”
Jančič also pointed out that the government has so far been giving RTVS around ten million euros annually for minority-language programming outside the budget plans. Under the new law, this becomes a yearly obligation, which means it can now be included in the state’s budget planning. The government has already increased the RTVS fee by ten percent (bringing in around ten million annually), and now this increase has been written into law, allowing the government to raise it by up to another ten percent next year. They have also added several million euros annually from the budget for the Symphony Orchestra and other musical ensembles that RTVS does not need for its programming. “These ensembles were typical for the large state broadcasters of wealthy European countries in the previous century. But the Ministry of Culture under Asta Vrečko refuses to take them into its own budget as national cultural heritage,’ Jančič reminded readers on the portal Spletni časopis.
Kadunc critical of RTV leadership
It is also worth recalling the reaction of the former director‑general of RTVS, who followed the debate on the amendment to the RTV Act, and received support from his current successor, Natalija Gorščak. “With great astonishment I listened to the chair of the RTV management board, Natalija Gorščak, at the parliamentary Committee on Culture. She uttered three sentences. First, that RTV supports the adoption of the amendment. Does RTV mean every employee at RTV supports it? Perhaps the representative trade unions? The workers’ council? Was any internal public debate held within RTV on this? I allow for the possibility that the RTV management discussed it and adopted such a decision! But I do not believe it, and I will request the official decision to see whether it exists and which of the four board members supported it. Naturally, the RTV Council has also not taken a position on this,” he wrote. He continued: “From Natalija Gorščak’s brief 24‑second appearance one can discern the essence of her conduct: to please everyone and anyone! How can she support a law that will significantly shape the organisation’s financing for at least a year, probably two. Yes, RTV will receive 3.3 million euros more than it received, for example, for 2024 and 2025 from the budget, but it is known that in 2026 it will need around 7 million euros more just for salaries!” Kadunc thus probes his successor’s conscience: can you sink any lower?
Higher expenditure also for the STA
The SDS obstructed the vote on the amendment to the RTV Act, arguing that the Constitutional Court has still not issued an opinion on whether the law is constitutional. Let us recall: two years ago the constitutional judges “suspended” the validity of the law, but after the notorious visit of then–European Commission Vice‑President Věra Jourová, things changed: the law entered into force, and the Constitutional Court remained silent on its (un)constitutionality. And it remains silent to this day. Instead, RTV will now be able to draw more funds from the state budget. But the same applies to the STA. The director of the Government Communication Office (UKOM), Petra Bezjak Cirman, has signed a higher annual contract for government financing of the public service STA, nearly 20 percent more than before. In financial terms: €650,000 more than in 2025. It is worth noting that the STA is entirely state‑owned, and its managerial and editorial leadership has been appointed by the ruling parties. Recently, Mihael Šušteršič returned to the STA as an editorial functionary after a brief “excursion” to Siol. The government has also set the conditions and criteria under which it can distribute additional millions of taxpayers’ money to media tycoons, from Stojan Petrič to Martin Odlazek. These outlets already enjoy a considerable advantage over the few media not aligned with the government, and this advantage will now only grow. The money is supposedly intended to support digitalisation and online presence of mainstream media, all of which are already online. They will likely be able to boost their presence on social‑media platforms through sponsored posts. Understandably so, given that print circulation is slowly declining and newspapers are recording losses. The government is also tailoring media tenders to benefit the larger media players. “The new media law enables the distribution of taxpayers’ money to the “right media” for several years, including during the next government’s term,” warns Jančič.
Rewarding and incentivising “our own”
None of this is new. The government has been discussing financial gifts to secure solid public support from the media throughout its entire term. But because it was too slow in its generosity, the proximity of the elections has now done its part. The government is said to be allocating nine million euros of taxpayers’ money for hiring new staff and for digitalisation. But is that really the case? Some media empires, such as Večer, have recently dismissed several journalists – and now these same outlets are supposedly hiring new staff? It is clear that the real purpose of these gifts lies elsewhere, very likely in rewarding “loyalty” and providing additional incentives ahead of the elections. Or as Prime Minister Golob said while fraternising with Zoran Janković in mid‑December at the Ljubljana Holding party: “The other one” will take your Christmas bonus away. In other words: intimidation through the carrot‑and‑stick method. In a normal free society, media would survive primarily through equal competition on the market. Crucially, pro‑government media have all advertising channels wide open for their survival, while opposition‑leaning media are denied and blocked from them. And this dynamic has been going on for quite some time, Aljuš Pertinač commented for the portal Nova24TV.si. “It is a constant relationship between media that are servile to the current government, and the government repays them by generously financing them. And given that elections are approaching, the motivation among those in power is even greater. The media, or rather their owners, who are the actual recipients of this money and who benefit the most, certainly do not refuse these funds,” said Pertinač. He added that at least the older part of the population still trusts traditional media, including print, even though circulation is continuously falling and financial injections do nothing to stop the decline or make these outlets more widely followed, which is a paradox in itself. “They have the feeling, at least partly justified, that since they have not achieved much in four years of governing, they must pay to make the media landscape look rosier than it really is.”
It is, of course, obvious that this is only part of a broader government strategy in which the ruling parties are hastily changing laws so that Prime Minister Robert Golob can present himself to the public as some sort of “kind uncle” who made sure many people received a Christmas bonus. And imagine, for the first time in his life. Meanwhile, the opposition is not allowed to say a word, because it would not suit the government for anyone to speak publicly about the “naked emperor”.