By: Peter Jančič (Spletni časopis)
The majority will reject additional pension privileges in the referendum. This was shown by Ninamdeia survey for Dnevnik.
According to this research, 55% of respondents do not support the supplements that would guarantee Prešeren Award recipients a net pension of 3,000 euros, with slightly lower amounts for winners of lesser awards. Meanwhile, 36% of those surveyed support higher supplements for the cultural elite, while 8.1% were undecided. A recalculation by Spletni časopis, considering only those with a firm stance – since only their votes count in a referendum – yields the following result:
The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) will stop collecting signatures for the referendum tomorrow, as more than 40,000 have already been gathered. Since MPs will be required to call the referendum, the law will only be overturned if voter turnout is sufficiently high. The Constitution states: “A law is rejected in a referendum if the majority of voters who cast a valid vote oppose it, provided that at least one-fifth of all eligible voters vote against the law.” There are approximately 1.7 million eligible voters in Slovenia, meaning around 339,000 people must vote against the law for the pension supplements to be abolished.
Representatives of the ruling Svoboda and SD parties stated on POP TV that they would defend the law in the referendum. The law would provide pension supplements of around 500 euros and make them a legally enforceable right rather than an exceptional privilege granted at the government’s discretion, as was the case under socialist-era legislation. Minister Matej Arčon (Svoboda) argued that the referendum would deal a significant blow to Slovenian culture and language: “We Primorska people know very well that our nation has survived thanks to the Slovenian language and culture. And you know, the paradox here is that if this law is rejected in the referendum, the awards will remain, and the 1970s law will continue to apply. Apparently, the opposition leader is nostalgic for Yugoslavia.”
SD representative Andreja Katič expressed a similar stance: “As a nation, we have survived throughout history thanks to culture and the arts. Just as in the past, the Social Democrats will actively participate in this referendum campaign. We will continue advocating what we have stood for over the years – that our nation is built on culture, and I believe this will remain the case in the future. Of course, it will be necessary to explain to voters that not everything misunderstood by some is necessarily unacceptable to the majority. That is why I believe Slovenian culture must be supported.”
Under the existing socialist-era law, the government has the authority to exceptionally grant pensions. In the past decade, around a dozen such supplements were awarded – four by the government of Robert Golob and eight by the previous government of Janez Janša. Decades ago, under Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek, the number of such grants reached several hundred.
In the past seven years, nearly one hundred pension supplements have also been granted to athletes under a special law, which was legislated from the left at the proposal of Peter Vilfan – who is himself among the recipients of this privilege. A similar law is now being enacted for cultural figures. A comparable number of “privileged” recipients is expected, similar to the case with athletes – at least around one hundred within a few years.
For more information on who the recipients of these supplements are under the socialist-era law – whose rights will be preserved – the government and the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute (ZPIZ) have kept their names from the public. You can read more here: List of 136 Meritorious Pension Supplement Recipients and Their Heirs.