By: Spletni časopis
The headline from the state-owned Siol.net, that Robert Golob’s great victory was when his MPs outvoted the coalition partner Levica during the debate on a referendum about increasing defence spending, is a fitting description of this government’s achievements and its propaganda. It is also a good reason to seriously consider abolishing and banning state ownership of media, as STA and RTVS are also state-owned. These are no longer media outlets – they have become a mindless PR department for those in power.
“A majority in the National Assembly has patriotically put an end to the opposition’s political games with national security.” This statement by the Prime Minister was published by the official government portal in response to the outcome of a parliamentary vote, in which MPs from Svoboda, the Democrats, and both minority representatives revoked a referendum initiated by the government party Levica. Levica was also the only party to vote against repealing the referendum in the second round of voting. Think about it: the Prime Minister and the government’s communication office (UKOM) labelled a referendum called by a coalition party, supported in the first vote by all MPs of two government parties, Levica and SD, as a political stunt by the opposition. That opposition being SDS and NSi, who do not have a parliamentary majority by any measure. So, what is going on? Is the Prime Minister lying to us, or just treating us like fools? Either way, it is bad.
The sheer level of propaganda being served to us is best illustrated by the fact that the opposition is completely powerless in parliament when it comes to votes. So why does the Prime Minister feel the need to try so hard to “defeat” them? What is more, during both votes, Anže Logar’s Democrats (a splinter from SDS) even helped Svoboda by voting against the referendum, votes which Svoboda did not technically even need.
Things got even more absurd over at Siol.net, where Golob carried out not one but two purges. The second likely happened because even after appointing Mihael Šuštaršič, the journalists still refused to sign their names to propaganda pieces in the style of former colleagues now at the Necenzurirano portal, Primož Cirman and Vesna Vuković, whom Golob (together with Klemen Boštjančič and Gorenje) had been secretly paying under the table when they were still working at the state-run Siol.net. The issue was eventually “solved” after the second purge by rushing a PR officer from the government into the newsroom, someone who, during the referendum repeal coverage, again showed just how disgraceful the state-owned Telekom media outlet has become. Overruling Levica, which only has four MPs, was declared a great victory for Robert Golob, who commands 39 MPs out of 90 in parliament.
Journalist Bojan Požar summed it up like this:
Describing it as a great victory for Golob when his own MPs overrule the coalition’s Levica is a good summary of this government’s real achievements and its propaganda.
And it is true. The fact that they are overruling themselves is considered a massive achievement and victory. Possibly the biggest of this government and coalition.