By: Davorin Kopše
Elections are approaching, the official campaign has begun, confrontations are taking place on television, and social networks are full of posts. Coalition party members can rightly boast of their achievements over the past two years. These are indisputable, but on the other hand we can look at a peculiar phenomenon. Because they have no ideas of their own, they try to challenge the facts and promise utopias that we have already seen in the time of poor socialism. The scene gives the impression that we have two extremely different paths ahead of us. One is developmental and leads to digitalisation, and the other is the totalitarian opposite, which is even against the construction of modern roads and would prefer to plant us back in Zastava 101 and fičko (Yugoslav people’s cars).
Civil society is by definition a common name for non-governmental organisations that, contrary to the government, represent their interests. They are therefore non-governmental and, as such, in most cases should not be linked to the government and should be financially independent of it as in all other respects. Of course, this is not the case with us. Sparrows are already tweeting, and Golob confirms that non-governmental organisations in Slovenia are connected to the left-wing governments. Left-wing governments create the conditions for them to live comfortably, they fund them abundantly, and in return they strengthen their electorate.
Poor civil society in Slovenia and politics
In the past two years, the government of Janez Janša has taken a different approach, i.e., the right way. It has denied unjustified financial support to NGOs that have so far squandered millions from the budget and benefited from them. That is why, when the current government took office, it began blustering at Metelkova street 6, where many have their headquarters. In fact, they were against the legitimate government even before it was elected to the National Assembly. We are talking about the well-known street uprisings, where they clowned around in the sense of half striptease and chalk drawing on the asphalt, while threatening death, and they also used violence in the form of throwing granite cubes.
In Slovenia, therefore, we have been watching for more than a hundred weeks the revolt of the privileged, who sensed that they might find themselves in a situation where money will have to be earned. Their fear was justified. Some funding channels have already been cut off, which is good for everyone, but for them it means the end of harmful and perverse bluffing at someone else’s expense. The organisers and leaders of these protests are well known, and the most regularly active is the son of Chief Prosecutor Jaša Jenull. He is said to be a culturist because he once jumped on the streets of Ljubljana in his underwear and called it a cultural show. When they say it is about culture, they also talk about a woman breastfeeding a dog in a theatrical play. For genuine culture, however, the current government has increased its budget and made sure it survived the coronavirus era.
On Monday’s confrontation between political parties as part of the election campaign for the National Assembly elections, Robert Golob stated that in addition to the four KUL parties, they will form a coalition with civil society. Yes, they would form a coalition with civil society, he said. Let us remember once again who will be in his coalition. These are four parliamentary parties (LMŠ, SD, Levica and SAB) plus civil society, which is currently campaigning for them in Slovenia. They roam from place to place, carrying speakers and announcing who needs to be elected so that they will have it nice. Golob therefore promises to unite the government and civil society, which is by definition in the name of his own interests against the government. Of course, he would do that if he was elected. But he will not be, or have we really lost all our sanity in Slovenia. The KUL coalition voted against all people’s interests during the entire current term, which is coming to an end. It incited people to disregard anti-corona measures, thus spreading confusion, it harassed the adoption of a new law on communicable diseases and thus prevented its adoption (at a time when an infectious disease was spreading), it voted against anti-corona law packages, the long-term care law, and it voted against wage increases. Will this nation really vote for them now? That would be downright startling.
Golob would legalise left-wing RTV
With the help of uncles from the background and parallel mechanisms, which in some segments are also called the majority media at the time, Robert Golob is the number one virtual political leader. As a politician and Janša’s rival, the media invited him in front of the cameras even before he founded a political party. He was presented as an excellent candidate for Prime Minister and an alternative to Janez Janša. At the same time, the dominant media do not report on his illegal salary in GEN-I, that he is a manager who always had exclusive access to cheap electricity from the state nuclear power plant and nevertheless did not generate expected profits. They also do not report on high salaries of other employees in this company and suspicious establishments of companies abroad that do not bring profits but are comfortable armchairs for friends.
Due to some personnel changes at RTV Slovenia, some journalists of the daily news programme and the RTV trade union resisted. By no means can they agree with the appointment of Jadranka Rebrnik, who became the editor-in-chief of the news programme, and Igor Pirkovič, who became the acting editor-in-chief of the Multimedia Centre of RTV Slovenia.
Marcel Štefančič, the host of the far-left Studio city show on national television, raged furiously at the public grandstand a few days ago, that they know who those who are making these changes on this television are, and how there are more of those who oppose it. He more than obviously hinted at the final showdown, as Helena Milinković, the president of the unions on this television, also announced that they would take over RTV.
The struggle of bitter left-wing journalists and trade unions on RTV Slovenia is more than obvious without political support. The president of the Gibanje Svoboda party, who falsely promises to lead the government, said at Monday’s confrontation: Before the government, we will, together with civil society and KUL, submit a new law on RTV but replaced those who do not belong there with insiders, journalists, and employees. They should take over the management of RTV. And this is the coalition with civil society that we will stand for, he said.
If we combine the efforts of the protesters, who cannot come to terms with the normalisation of the public institution Radiotelevizija Slovenija and Robert Golob and KUL, we get a picture that gives a democrat goose bumps. Even before balancing and professionally independent journalism is finally established there, they want to take back public service broadcasting and set up a leadership tailored to them to keep most people in check and crazy.
Broadcasting is no exception. With the return to power, socialist politics, to which entrepreneurship is a thorn in the side, would return all the changes achieved for the better to the old state. Companies, individuals, and categorised groups that have received aid and subsidies are promised a return of everything they received, which ensured their survival, with the arrival of the KUL Thursday with the new boss Robert Golob.
KUL and Golob are definitely indebted to civil society and RTV, as they were the first to be a vocal opposition without content on the streets and are currently the most active in the election campaign, although they are not running for office. As said, they are running for renewal of privileges. Others, however, have been barking dogs at the government and coalition for quite some time instead of watch dogs, as journalists are sometimes called.
The government of KUL + one Golob would transfer all this back to its promoters, to Metelkova street 6, who are once again looking forward to times in paid idleness. In the pre-election promise, they made it clear that they would repeal all that had been well received in the last two years. Well, on April 24th, the voter has a pencil and a ballot in his hands.
Davorin Kopše is a war veteran for Slovenia, a candidate for MEP and an active citizen.