By: Mitja Iršič (Nova24tv)
When we talk about NGOs in Slovenia, images often come to mind of privileged far‑left youth in outfits worth several thousand euros, protesting against right‑wing political parties, religion, and capitalism. But it was not always like this. Over the past century, NGOs have travelled a long path – from humanitarian institutions to extensions of left‑wing politics, which is what many of them have become today. This raises the question: must all taxpayers be forced to finance their far‑left goals and their quiet – and sometimes loud – support for left‑wing governments?
Slovenian NGOs hide behind the productive ones
Dominant NGOs hide behind firefighters, humanitarian groups, and other non‑ideological associations whenever politicians mention that NGOs are being funded too generously. They immediately revive the old myth that someone wants to “abolish the firefighters.”
Recall how Janez Janša’s recent statement, that his future government would first shut off the financial pipelines to NGOs, triggered outright panic among the far‑left NGO sector. Suddenly there was talk of an “attack on democracy,” “silencing civil society,” and even the destruction of fundamental human rights.
MP Zvone Černač explained that the SDS and Janša’s proposal means shutting off taxpayer funding “to all those who act as a para‑left political army under the disguise of NGOs.”
Freedom Movement MP Tereza Novak labelled the announcement an “attack on democracy.” Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar even described NGOs as his “partners in shaping the ministry’s policies.”
Is funding political NGOs an abuse of the state budget?
In Pravna praksa, Miloš Čirič argues that funding NGOs whose main activity is political advocacy constitutes a misuse of public funds. He cites three key reasons: bypassing rules on political financing, reducing resources for organisations with genuine public‑interest missions, and distorting democratic competition in favour of those in power.
Projects in which Primorc participated as applicant, partner, or consultant received €813,000 out of a total €6.9 million, an astonishing 12 percent of all available funds.
IPES received €300,000, but only after the minister signed a change to the rules. For other NGOs, the company Smart Center prepared project applications in exchange for a 7‑percent commission. Had the scandal not become public, Smart Center, co‑owned by the minister’s mother and preparing applications for several NGOs, would have received at least €10,300, according to Tarča show.
And where did the €6.9 million go? Into a word salad. For: “Preparing a national strategy for implementing the principle of policy coherence for sustainable development; establishing an effective framework for ensuring accessible, appropriate, and safe treatment of reproductive rights for all individuals; preparing the first national Strategy for Promoting Women into Leadership Positions in the Economy; and actively integrating immigrants into the labour market.”
When the scandal broke, none of the NGOs wanted to explain what their tasks under the public tender actually involved. Tarča showed that some NGO programmes, funded with hundreds of thousands of taxpayer euros, were completely hollow, without clear goals, sometimes even promising “help for citizens” that was useless and ultimately never delivered.
The NGO modus operandi
Two years ago, Slovenians were stunned as the network of cronyistic distribution of public money to court‑favoured NGOs was exposed. They saw how empty the projects were, how much money was spent on them, and how political and NGO allies literally divided the funds among themselves. The public was outraged, but quickly forgot once Minister Sanja Ajanović Hovnik resigned.
This raises the legitimate question highlighted by Čirič: is funding NGOs that deal exclusively with politics (and only on one side) an abuse of public money? Almost every country is ideologically split in half, with power alternating between left and right. By this logic, Slovenians, who are predominantly right‑leaning in worldview, are forced to finance almost exclusively far‑left NGOs.
By losing their humanitarian character, these NGOs have become merely an extension of left‑wing politics and left‑wing corporatism. They know this well. They remain silent when law‑enforcement bodies accuse Zoran Janković of wrongdoing or when the anti‑corruption commission finds a breach of integrity by Prime Minister Robert Golob. But when it comes to right‑wing politicians, they are willing to invent accusations if necessary.
Many therefore conclude that NGOs are a para‑state outpost of left‑wing politics, and they do not understand why their taxpayer euros must be used to fund them.