“Is it possible to somehow punish Aleš Hojs, because he calmly, decisively, and with the support of arguments, ruined the script that was prepared for the show Tarča? We cannot allow for this to happen, because this attacks the fundamental communist tradition, ‘lie is the immortal soul of communism,’” longtime journalist and editor Vinko Vasle commented on Thursday’s show Tarča, the topic of which was politicization or depoliticization of the police. Minister of the Interior received a lot of praise on social media, as he completely ruined all the arguments and planting of lies that the show had prepared. “Today, Hojs was Luka Dončič, he outplayed her and scored – basket after basket,” one of the users commented on the course of the show, hosted by Erika Žnidaršič.
The editorial board of the show Tarča was preparing a new attack on the government to kick off the new season. This time, they focused on the police and the alleged illegalities, pressure, and politicization. The guests that were invited to the show were Miroslav Žarbel from the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, former director of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency (“Slovenska obveščevalna in varnostna služba” – hereinafter referred to as SOVA) and expert in police law Andrej Rupnik, SD MP and Chairman of the Commission for the Supervision of Intelligence and Security Services (“Komisija za nadzor obveščevalnih in varnostnih služb” – hereinafter referred to as KNOVS) Matjaž Nemec, and Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs, as the main target of the show.
The host of the show Tarča, Erika Žnidaršič, initially accused Hojs of practically almost completely subordinating the police, to which Hojs replied that he had not replaced anyone in the police. “I made a proposal to the government to replace the director of the police. We did this twice, at the beginning of the term and after Anton Travner’s resignation. The staff of the police is changed by the director of the police, and the directors of the directorate at the ministry, are appointed by me,” he pointed out, noting that so far, we have had 15 ministers and 15 directors of the police, since the time we gained our independence as a country. “So you can imagine that every minister, which is perfectly normal, wanted to work with the people of his own choosing. The minister is allowed to decide on who the director of the police will be, and who the director of the directorates is going to be.”
Hojs pointed out the lies in the television report
Further, the TV show brought up the Kangler matter, as Žnidaršič asked Hojs if he was aware of Mr. Kangler’s request. Kangler ordered the police to implement concrete sanctions or act against the criminal investigators who were prosecuting his acquaintance, friend, who was a criminal investigator at the time. Hojs first emphasized that we need to be aware of the fact that the ministry is very busy at the moment, so both state secretaries, as deputy ministers, also perform the tasks that cannot always be done by the minister, due to the workload. He pointed out the lies told by the RTV journalist in the television report. She said that Mr. Kangler had sent the first letter and then added that, since nothing happened, he had sent another letter. “Did she or did she not say it like that?” Hojs was clear, to which the TV show host responded that this was indeed the case. Hojs pointed out that it was by no means true that nothing had happened. “Another letter came, and Mr. Kangler forwarded that second letter to the police director again.”
“All of the letters that Kangler had sent to the director of the police relate to the cases of resignations. So, the case of the Slovenian guard, the Ljutomer police, the Kranjska Gora cable car. I myself, a few days ago, had been visited by a gentleman who came to see me and said that about two years ago, he had filed a criminal complaint with the names and surnames, with the records of the meetings of the municipal commission, and in two years, nothing happened. So when I received this file, I handed it over to the supervisor, the Police and Security Directorate, and what is interesting about this case is that the matter relates almost entirely to the SD party. So to the acquisition of land in Piran by the former head of the UE Piran,” Hojs pointed out, adding that he demanded the supervision of the Police and Security Directorate. “We will find out what the control will discover. It is interesting that two years after the man revealed the story, nothing had happened at the National Bureau of Investigation (“Nacionalni preiskovalni urad” – hereinafter referred to as the NPU). Is the reason perhaps the fact that members of the SD party are involved? I don’t know, but this will be established by the control,” he said, emphasizing that he thinks it is legal to demand from the director of the police that the police, the NPU, and everyone else works legally.
And since there was more than one lie presented on the show, Hojs also pointed that out. “Another lie in your report. You said that I instructed the inspector to go and first look at the cases that were being investigated by Rastoder.” The presenter tried to defend herself, assuring Hojs that those who were present at the investigations had said that. “I am telling you that this is a lie. I only instructed the inspector to check whether the NPU was handling classified information in accordance with the law.” “Do you deny that they began their investigation with that one criminal investigator in question?” the host of the show asked. “I don’t know because I do not know where they were. I did not receive the record of the investigation, nor the report. For the second time already, you are telling me that you do not want to argue with me, and I am telling you that you have lied twice already.”
But the creators of the show did not stop there. The presenter then told Hojs: “You ordered a revision of exactly five cases. It’s hard to call that a system control.” To this, Hojs responded by saying that it was certainly a matter of systemic control. “Once again, I have to deny the allegations that I am revising anyone in particular. I gave directions to the police, which I can do by law. I would like to, perhaps a bit more technically, explain this to the viewers, as us technical engineers know what a revision means. So, when someone designs something, the other engineers look at it to identify any computational errors, to ensure that the project is safe. It is exactly the same at the NPU. Here, too, I have chosen the cases that were not ordered by the SDS party. Most of them have been approved by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. All MPs agreed with the report on Farrokh, children’s cardiac surgery programme, and so on. Millions have been stolen, and nothing happened,” Hojs emphasized in response to the question of why he did not include other cases; the Janković case, for example.
“I chose the cases that have been closed already, and which I have the right to choose, by law,” Hojs emphasized, reminding everyone of the contents of the 2001 decision of the Constitutional Court. “Then-Minister Rado Bohinc, a member of the SD party, wanted to look into the supervisions of the police, when Marko Pogorevc was leading the police. The Constitutional Court has found that he is allowed to do that,” Hojs pointed out. “The Minister is responsible for the work of the Ministry of the Interior and the police, a constituent body,” Hojs made it clear. “I am responsible, to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, and to the people, for the work of the police.” In his conclusion, Hojs stressed that he believes that the problem is not only the police but, for the most part, the prosecution and the courts. “In the Kangler case, for example, the judge made it clear that it is not a problem if he works on a farm; what is important is that he does not return to politics. That would mean he has to go to jail. Most of these judges are pictured in the company of Tanja Fajon and Milan Brglez, and of course, they are wearing the red star,” he pointed out.
The goal of the creators of the show was not achieved
Judging by the comments, it is obvious that the majority of viewers are of the unanimous opinion that the minister completely outplayed the creators of the show with his arguments. They obviously wanted to create a big “affair,” just like in the case of the procurement of protective equipment. The following comments show that their attempt more than obviously failed: “Erika has disappointed the protagonists of the deep state, who were planning to launch an attack on Hojs with this episode, and, if possible, on Breznik and Kangler as well.” “One of the biggest problems of RTV Slovenija is obviously the time lag and social networks; congratulations to Minister Aleš Hojs for all that he said. Such bad behaviour from the TV show host, who was furious and kept on interrupting the esteemed minister, instead of leading a cultural and respectful dialogue, is just another in a series of embarrassments of RTV…” “Given the sovereign appearances of Anže Logar and Aleš Hojs, I am afraid they will soon become the “persona non grata” in the mainstream media! I hope I am wrong!” “There are not many ministers like this. Kudos to you, Mr. Hojs. 4:1 for you.” “Mr. Aleš Hojs, you were excellent on Tarča, I suggest that the next time you tell RTV that they are lying, you also clearly tell the citizens that if they have the option to watch it back, they should check your claims, and then you can stop negotiating with Erika. You are right! They did lie! Point it out.” “What can be concluded from the show Tarča, is that the National Bureau of Investigation is a special unit for intimidation. House searches as if we are in a movie, a bunch of threats with unknown processes, delays to reach the statutes of limitations, a landfill for the well-paid staff, and the success rate of their processes is unknown. This is ripe for abolition. #justsaying.”
The presenter disappointed them
The viewers were obviously not pleased with the presenter of the show Tarča. They commented the following: “Today on Tarča: Erika Žnidaršič is shaking, because she knows that they are on thin ice, and exaggerating. Erika, people have the option to watch the content back, so we can check to see if you told the lies that Hojs mentioned! And he was right! You lied and then you did not even admit that you lied! I checked it myself!” “Watch the show, it pays to see how Hojs showed Žnidaršič! She completely failed, she is a liar and a manipulator. More and more of my acquaintances and friends (moderate leftists) have given up on their embarrassing parties. They are saying that they will vote for SDS next time.” “She is not used to this… She likes people like Gale, who she can practically tell what to say, and in turn, she seems really smart… Today, Hojs outplayed her, crushed her, and destroyed 5 years of her life… Bravo Aleš Hojs.” “I watched a short segment of the show Tarča. What is it about these journalists of ours? Isn’t the journalists’ job to provide information and host the show? In Slovenia, however, if a guest does not tell them what they want to hear, they will argue with him. Who cares about a journalist’s opinion!” “Instead of a Hojs – Nemec confrontation, we get a journalist who is angrily attacking her guest!”
“This is the second Tarča in a row, after the disgustingly shameful episode about the nursing homes, that exploded in their faces. They are running out of instigating material, plus, the “targets” are better and better prepared for the “North Korean” media stance,” Mitja Iršič, a public relations consultant at the Ministry of Culture, commented on the show. State Secretary Vinko Gorenak added that Tarča’s goal had not been achieved. “My view of the guests’ appearance: Aleš Hojs with excellent arguments to support his views, Žaberl is a great example of how a politician emerges from an expert; Matjaž Nemec – excellent performance of a bad politician; Rupnik – excellent example of how an expert can remain an expert. Congratulations to all.” SDS MP Tomaž Lisec was visibly disappointed with the show, as he wrote: “I am watching the show Tarča. Erika – disappointment. Matjaž – “lost in space.” Aleš Hojs with arguments.” And Žiga Turk wrote: “If you liked the way Aleš Hojs stopped Ms. Žnidaršič, you are missing something. Namely, that it would be appropriate and the right thing, if we were watching the Hojs:Nemec duel, and the lady from RTV Slo would be the impartial moderator and judge.”
Nina Žoher