By: Sara Rančigaj
In recent days, citizens have been receiving leaflets calling for a referendum. They do not indicate who is the initiator and organiser of the sending of the mentioned leaflets. It is neither clear that it is about a political campaign nor who is financing them. It is more than obvious from the Twitter post that the campaign was supported by the party Levica, as social networks were flooded with calls with the same logo, and their stand in Ljubljana also adorned the same cover. Sending leaflets with political content is an obvious concealment of political propaganda, so the question arises as to whether this campaign is in line with the law on political parties at all. In addition, the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia should determine how and in what way the mentioned campaign was financed.
“In the midst of the biggest crisis, the government is buying weapons for 780 million euros. We demand a referendum,” is written on the leaflets that have arrived in citizens’ mailboxes in recent days. They point out that in the middle of the biggest crisis, when hospitals are cracking at the seams, life is stopped and the future of the country is completely uncertain, the government is trying to conclude the largest arms deal in the country’s history “behind our backs” by voting in the National Assembly, with the help of 780 million euros to buy equipment for soldiers who are fighting abroad and risking their lives.
According to them, these funds could be used to build eight new infection clinics, ten thousand missing apartments for young people and twelve thousand missing beds in homes for the elderly. Meanwhile, certain members of the Levica are too young to understand what the war situation is like and emphasise that Slovenia is not under military threat. “It is endangered health, socially and developmentally,” they say, believing that this is money thrown away. With these words, however, they forget about all the soldiers and their lives that they risk abroad with equipment that in certain cases is not even considered satisfactory. We must not forget that Slovenia voted for its membership in NATO in a referendum. NATO membership thus brings us the cheapest way to protect the country in the event of war, and if Slovenia were not a member of the alliance, these costs would be significantly higher. However, because we can benefit from NATO, we must also fulfil our obligations to the Alliance.
The leaflets do not indicate that this is a political campaign, so it is not clearly stated who sends these leaflets and finances them. From the post on Twitter and the campaign, it is possible to find that these leaflets are more than the obvious work of the Levica party, as the same motif also appeared on their stand in Ljubljana. Levica is effectively expanding its campaign by misleading with the help of RTV.
On its Twitter profile, Levica shared a picture from the Studio City show, where incorrect information about the financing of the army was given. While experts apparently pointed out their “mistake” to RTV, they wrote on Twitter the next day: “There was an unwelcome mistake in publishing the graphics in the show. Amount from the budget for l. 2021, which we have shown, represents the entire budget of the Ministry of Defence, including investments and salaries of soldiers. We apologise for the mistake.” The apology and explanation, however, did not come among the majority of viewers, with Levica still spreading the news.
A call to the Court of Audit if the said campaign complies with the Law on Political Parties
The leaflets mentioned are an obvious concealment of political propaganda, although this is not actually indicated on the leaflets. We decided to send a letter to the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia, informing them that in recent days citizens have been receiving these leaflets in mailboxes.