By: Dr Matevž Tomšič
Depoliticization tailored to the current ruling elite is something typically Orwellian, in the sense of Newspeak from the dystopian novel 1984: in practice it means the opposite of what the word is supposed to mean. This realisation is not new. In fact, it has been clear from the very beginning, from the moment Prime Minister Robert Golob announced it. When he demanded from his subordinates that they cleanse the police of so‑called “Janšists.” This then spread to other areas as well, everywhere the state holds things under its control. Depoliticization has, in reality, always been a cover for settling scores with real or imagined opponents.
It is probably most visible in the media. During the rule of “freedom,” the media landscape has become more politicised than ever before in the history of independent Slovenia. And never before have the so‑called mainstream media been such an obvious propaganda tool of the government. They have always been mostly sympathetic to the left‑wing political option. However, in the past – especially during the rule of Drnovšek’s LDS – they were at least able to conceal this to some extent. Now they no longer can. In fact, they do not even try. Their bias has put itself on display in all its deceitful “glory.”
This is especially true of the outlet that, by its mission and by the fact that it is forcibly financed by all electricity consumers, should be an example of impartiality and truthfulness. We are, of course, talking about the public broadcaster. There, on the basis of a new law, whose constitutionality the Constitutional Court has still not managed to determine, people who are one hundred percent loyal to the ruling elite were appointed to management and supervisory bodies. And they have placed this media outlet in the service of those in power, in a way not seen since communist times.
Now they are trying to “pacify” even those few programs that are still capable of critically examining the actions of those in power. One of them is Tarča. It is essentially the only investigative journalism show on the national broadcaster that exposes scandals involving the prime minister, his ministers, and other influential figures from the ruling left. For this reason, it has become a major thorn in their side. And the leadership has obliged them. Thus, its last episode before the start of the election campaign, supposed to address controversial staffing in certain ministries and public companies, was removed from the schedule. The management justified the removal by citing unexpected absences in the team preparing the show. But the editorial team and creators of Tarča publicly refuted this. They stated that they had been forbidden from airing the episode in its intended form and had even received threats of sanctions. It was therefore a clear case of pressure from politically appointed leadership.
It is worth noting that the Tarča team are not right‑wingers, let alone supporters of Janez Janša. In the recent past, they tackled his government no less decisively. One only needs to recall the affair over the procurement of protective equipment during the COVID‑19 epidemic, when the show played a central role in exposing alleged irregularities – although these accusations were later found (in court) to be unfounded. At that time, the left‑wing political sphere and its allied NGOs praised the show highly. Now, when Tarča has taken a similar approach toward the current government, everything is suddenly wrong. What was previously “courageous investigative journalism” is now “cheap sensationalism.” Double standards that people, unfortunately, have grown far too accustomed to.
The ambition of the ruling left is to establish complete media uniformity. It is not enough that it controls the vast majority of the media. It is not enough that most of the national broadcaster’s programming supports its agenda. Everyone must do so. Anyone who deviates from this is problematic and must be silenced. This is especially important now, ahead of elections in which the left is not polling well. “Depoliticization” must therefore be thorough.