By: G. B.
As reported, the parliamentary inquiry commission tasked with investigating suspicions of illegal party financing questioned Jože Biščak. Biščak, the former editor of the weekly Demokracija and former director of Nova Obzorja, emphasised multiple times that Demokracija is not a party-affiliated magazine. Former Interior Minister Aleš Hojs did not attend the hearing.
The publishing house Nova Obzorja, which is 30% owned by the SDS party, received just under €59,000 from state entities in 2020, nearly €130,000 in 2021, and just under €194,000 in 2022, according to Erar data. In 2023, it received around €95,000. At least, that is how the chairwoman of the commission, Tamara Vonta, presented it, though it is not entirely clear if these figures include revenue from municipal advertising.
What is Tamara Vonta imagining?
The parliamentary inquiry commission highlighted that during Janez Janša’s government, the inflow of public funds increased both directly, as indicated by Erar, and indirectly through advertising from various companies. As suggested by Svoboda’s propaganda, certain construction companies allegedly transferred money to SDS-aligned media, including Nova Obzorja and Demokracija, in exchange for concessions to clean watercourses. The commission concluded that the amounts of these regular payments significantly exceeded standard advertising rates on the media market, raising suspicions that these payments were for fictitious services.
Jože Biščak, who served as editor of Demokracija from 2018 to 2022 and for a shorter period as director of Nova Obzorja, refused to answer most questions, claiming he had already addressed them during a previous hearing before the inquiry commission. He could not recall any business dealings with the mentioned construction companies. He attributed the increase in public funding to the appointment of Domen Rant as marketing director, calling him “an expert in marketing and advertising”. He added that they worked with all media agencies willing to collaborate with them.
Regarding the business relationship between Nova24TV and Nova Obzorja, Biščak stated it is “approximately or even exactly the same as the relationship between Reporter magazine and Svet 24.” He refrained from discussing Nova24TV’s operations, claiming that “these are two private companies,” but noted that Nova24TV advertised through Nova Obzorja. Incidentally, besides book publishing, Nova Obzorja publishes the printed Demokracija magazine and owns the online platform of the portal you are currently reading.
Fantasies about the Hungarians
“You are not like Nova24TV, which could not survive without Hungarian money and funds from state-owned companies,” said the chairwoman of the commission, Tamara Vonta (Svoboda), noting that Demokracija is partially funded through subscriptions. She also highlighted that money from Nova24TV was transferred to Demokracija. “I do not know where the money at Nova24TV came from,” Biščak responded. He also protested against Vonta’s claims that Demokracija is a party-affiliated publication. Following this, Vonta issued a warning to Biščak’s lawyer, Janez Stuško.
Biščak said his communication with SDS president Janez Janša was “the same as with everyone else.” He insisted they never discussed the editorial policy of Demokracija or the kinds of articles it should publish. However, Janša was, “of course, interested in how we were performing,” regarding the number of subscribers and readership, as a representative of the owner. Former SDS MP and current independent MP Dejan Kaloh was, according to Biščak, only a co-owner. SDS purchased books from Nova Obzorja, he added.
Biščak claimed not to recall any collaboration with the company Mediaworks Hungary. He is also the owner and director of the agency Gideon. When Vonta asked if the agency paid “prominent figures from the SDS media sphere, such as Boris Tomašič, Miro Petek, or Edvard Kadič,” Biščak replied, “We collaborate with those we agree to collaborate with.”
The accusations do not stop
Biščak stated that he stepped down as director of Nova Obzorja after the 2022 parliamentary elections due to health reasons, not because of the company’s financial difficulties. Regarding the reduction of employee salaries during that period, he explained that salaries depend on business performance. “When business was good, we increased salaries; when business was worse, we decreased them,” he said.
“I was the only one who had to secure funding for Nova Obzorja as its director,” he replied to Vonta’s question about whether SDS General Secretary Borut Dolanc was supposed to secure funding for Demokracija before the 2022 elections but ultimately failed to do so. Regarding whether the company’s liquidity just before the elections was resolved by Dari Južna, who is also a co-owner of Petrol, Biščak stated that he “had dealings with him once, but not more than that,” and that Petrol is a regular advertiser with them.
“This leads us to the relatively logical conclusion that Nova Obzorja operates very well when their co-owner is in power, but less so when their co-owner is no longer in power,” Vonta asserted. Biščak replied that this was her interpretation. The hearing continued in a closed session.
It is worth noting that Vonta referenced “her sources” during the questioning, which had allegedly been heard in closed sessions up to this point.