By: Peter Jančič (Spletni časopis)
A complete shock for the fervent supporters of the governing parties was the result of the referendum on privileges for cultural workers. The week was further soured for those in power by data on the drop in GDP – the largest among EU countries in our case.
For a government known for lavish spending, that is an achievement. The shock of the referendum result was made evident by the disbelief of TV Slovenia anchor Manica Janežič Ambrožič, who was formerly also an editor-in-chief, when she had to read the numbers. She could not believe them. She assumed they were an error. She even interrupted the broadcast to double-check that the figures had not been tampered with.
But it was not a mistake. When the official Electoral Commission figures started coming in, I too was surprised. Just a short while before, I had warned Matej Rigelnik on X (formerly Twitter) that according to public opinion polls, a 70% rejection of the law was possible, and that this could help meet the quorum if a large majority opposed the law.
But 93%? I had not even considered that possibility.
The shock at TV Slovenia was even greater because anyone there critical of the ruling parties had long been ‘cleansed’ – thrown out or otherwise silenced – as part of a purge against the political right in media (and elsewhere) ordered by Robert Golob and his government when they came to power. The Constitutional Court did not dare stop him. Since then, we have been witnessing a policy based on the old principle: it does not matter if they are competent, only that they are ours. This has consequences. When a ruler drives out people who dare to think for themselves and speak out, they lose touch with reality. What happened on Sunday is just a consequence.
That moment when the government met reality.
Manica Janežič’s astonishment was not entirely without reason. A large part of the media community had bought into the propaganda of the opinion bubble surrounding Robert Golob and Asta Vrečko – that even voters loyal to the government, those who would not personally benefit, supported these privileges. Sunday’s result shattered that illusion.
The failure of the media was also shown by the newspaper Delo. On Monday, they did not find space to report on the government’s catastrophic defeat in the referendum or explain how they had completely mispredicted the result just days earlier. They had forecast that at least 24% of voters would support the government’s proposal. Other media and polling agencies predicted an even better ‘success’ for the government. The gap between that ‘at least 24%’ and the actual result of just over 7% is massive – and it is what shocked Manica Janežič Ambrožič. It is not something you can just write off as a simple mistake or a last-minute swing during the campaign silence. For a newspaper that once called itself the country’s leading daily, Monday’s front page was a disgrace. If I were still running it, I would want to crawl into a hole out of shame.
Then on Thursday, after the disaster, Delo journalist Uroš Esih chimed in, declaring that with 403,000 votes – the number SDS (Slovenian Democratic Party) secured in the referendum with 25% turnout – Janez Janša still could not win an election and take power. So, everything is fine, apparently. What he conveniently left out is that Gibanje Svoboda won the last election with about the same number of votes – but with three times higher turnout. And that with the number of votes they got in the referendum, all three ruling coalition parties would fail to enter parliament. They would be out.
The first casualty of the referendum on privileges is now the owners of pro-government media. In parliament, the controversial media law – scheduled for a third reading this week – unexpectedly stalled. It would have handed even more money to media tycoons. Yet another privilege for the elite – for Martin Odlazek, whose empire includes numerous radio stations, web portals, and struggling papers like Večer, Dolenjski glas, and Necenzurirano. Also, for Stojan Petrič, who owns Delo, the dominant player in daily print media, though his business has been floundering for years. But he profits in other ways – and for that, he has his media. Just like other tycoons. Media are not for the readers anymore – they are for political propaganda in favour of ruling parties. And those parties reward them with special state subsidies.
The situation is almost more absurd than the astronomical privileges for cultural award recipients. The Levica party of Asta Vrečko, who also authored this law, is directly safeguarding the interests of big capitalists.
The referendum showed just how successful they have been. It was a complete failure.
Another feature of the new media law is its push to turn journalists and media into ‘social-political workers’ – a role they played during socialism – whose task is no longer to inform the public about current events. Instead, they will be obligated to combat various forms of intolerance and work for peace.
The notice that the item is being withdrawn indicates that it will not happen quickly – that media tycoons will not be getting even more money, and journalists will not become even more subordinated to the politics of the ruling parties.
Even if it had not been pulled, the new media law almost certainly would not take effect right away. The ruling parties could not satisfy the tycoons’ thirst for money immediately anyway.
Most likely, the law – a mess similar to the one about privileges for cultural workers – would have been blocked by the National Council. Even if the ruling coalition pushed it through again, a referendum would almost certainly follow. But summer holidays are approaching, when signature collection and referendums are not feasible, so public decision-making would be pushed into the fall. Just before the elections, which are fast approaching. Multiple referendums might then be held simultaneously – a more efficient approach.
Especially since the government, now nearing the end of its term, has suddenly announced that it will push through all sorts of reforms it neglected when there was still time. If these are done at the end of the term, it means they are leaving implementation to the next government. The early years were consumed with purges, spiritually enhancing competitiveness by handing state money to friendly NGOs and companies – all topped off with purchases of useless real estate and laptops from their friends. Add to that pay raises for officials, subsidies for parties, and lavish spending on representation and everything else.
Meanwhile, GDP dropped.
Now, just before elections, they are suddenly promising to reform pensions, build masses of public housing, and do all sorts of other things.
Elections are coming.
How tense things are was shown by young SDS MP Andrej Hoivik on the roof of the parliament building – from which, thankfully, he did not fall. I have a fear of heights, and just watching the video of him walking near the edge was terrifying. Hoivik played a key role for SDS in the campaign against privileged pensions for state cultural award recipients. He showed great knowledge of the field and enormous energy in a battle where the ruling parties did not shy away from manipulation and deceit. The most malicious even edited his last name on social media to resemble that of a mass murderer.
Because he is on the political right, this did not bother our so-called champions of tolerance and anti-hate speech at all. On the contrary – it is often these very ‘champions’ who are the source of such behaviour. You know how it goes: first, they shout ‘death!’ at the top of their lungs, and then they take over the council for fighting hate speech.
Hate speech – of others, of course.
