By: Domen Mezeg / Nova24tv.si
In 2018 alone, a total of one billion euros was allocated for non-governmental organizations, of which the amount of 333 million euros was from the state budget, and around 125 million euros are allocated for the national television every year, of which around 100 million is paid directly by the Slovenian taxpayers. But of course, the left-wing opposition now sees the allocation of 780 million euros for the years between 2021 and 2026 for the urgent modernization of the Slovenian Armed Forces as a problem, even though this means only around 130 million would be spent for the army every year. It is high time for Slovenians to ask ourselves who is receiving all of our money and why we have no benefits from these people. You will not hear any calls for the abolition of the NGOs and RTV from the left side of politics, even though billions are regularly allocated for them. It should also be noted that the National Assembly legally banned the referendum last Friday.
It is precisely the financial resources intended for the non-governmental organizations, many of which only deal with the Fridays’ protests, with themselves, or with completely insignificant and wasteful projects – with the exception of firefighters, the Red Cross, and a few others – as well as the funds intended for the national television, which has 2,200 overpaid employees (it would make sense to reduce the number to around 700 or even 600 employees), that should be taken away and given to the Slovenian health care system, which the left opposition and various left-wing activists of the “Zlatko” type are so immeasurably worried about. When it came to the mass theft of taxpayers’ money for the procurement of vascular stents and the hefty financing of the marginal inciting weekly Mladina, which meant that the patients at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana were much worse off because of it, they did not really care about the healthcare system. But now that the government of Janez Janša wants to help finance some of the equipment that is desperately needed in the army, which has so far received significantly smaller sums of money than the non-governmental organizations, this is suddenly a problem. And thus, the left-wing opposition, along with its loyal activists, launched a pogrom against the government’s decision. But the fact remains – Slovenia needs an army to protect the state border and relieve the police, which could be redeployed across the country.
And besides, floods and other natural disasters do occur in Slovenia, and the army could use its professional equipment to help the people in need, especially in saving lives, but this side of the story is not the least bit interesting to the left-wing opposition or its loyal supporters. Last but not least, we should also take a look at the numbers, which speak for themselves. Let us mention that in 2018, a total of almost one billion (!!!) euros of revenue was allocated for non-governmental organizations. The precise number is 918 million, of which over 333 million euros came from public funding! And RTV Slovenia, which is funded by all Slovenian taxpayers but nevertheless reports in a completely biased manner and is very much in favour of one political pole, also receives a total of 125 million euros per year, of which around 100 million is paid directly by the Slovenian taxpayers. But of course, the left-wing opposition now sees the allocation of 780 million euros for the years between 2021 and 2026 for the urgent modernization of the Slovenian Armed Forces as a problem. It is also important to note that peace should not be taken for granted, even though the current generation has already gotten used to it, and it should also be noted that Slovenia cannot count on its bigger and stronger allies indefinitely. In addition, the future brings many challenges in the field of terrorism and migration, so we cannot afford to have an army that is constantly assessed as inadequate.
Billions are allocated for the left-wing organizations and the biased RTV
“The Act on the Provision of Funds for Investments in the Slovenian Armed Forces does not provide for the purchase of tanks, but for the purchase of modern vehicles for the transport of units, with a high level of protection, that will protect the lives of soldiers,” the Ministry of Defence responded to the SD party, which had joined the campaign of collecting signatures for the referendum, in which they were intentionally misleading the public by claiming that 780 million euros would be spent for the purchase of tanks. In reality, the act does not provide for the purchase of a single tank. The National Assembly recently approved a bill which ensures the investments in the Slovenian army in the years 2021 to 2026. The bill envisions 780 million euros in additional funds for military investments in the next six years, most of it for the purchase of armoured vehicles and the establishment of a middle battalion battle group. The Social Democrats, along with the Levica, the LMŠ and the SAB parties, jumped at the opportunity to oppose the adoption of the Act on the Provision of Funds for Investments in the Slovenian Armed Forces and used this matter to collect signatures for a legislative referendum.
But it seems that they already failed at the very beginning of the campaign, as they made a mistake when they went after the “tanks.” “780 million euros for tanks? No, thanks! Sign the request for calling a referendum!” they called on their followers on social networks. Then, it turned out that the Investment Act does not provide for the purchase of new tanks at all but allocates one percent of the GDP for the most urgent investments, namely, for appropriate equipment, decent construction of barracks, purchase of transport helicopters, a transport aircraft and armoured vehicles, which will contribute to greater security and survival of Slovenian soldiers on missions. Furthermore, the Social Democrats and Levica are also trying to mislead the public by convincing it that the government will spend 780 million on weapons, instead of on health, jobs and care for the elderly.
There is more than enough money, should it be taken from the non-governmental organizations and RTV?
Of course, the “on-call provocateur” who is very ignorant of covid, Zlatan Čordić – Zlatko, who is also famous for harassing elderly people on the street, also came forward. Namely, he also joined the campaign of the SD and Levica parties in collecting signatures for a legislative referendum on the Act on the Provision of Funds for Investments in the Slovenian Armed Forces in the years 2021 to 2026. He wants to convince his followers that with the 780 million euros that are supposed to be invested in the army in the next six years, we could build 10 thousand apartments for young people and fund the purchase of 12 thousand beds that are still needed in nursing homes. In addition, he also keeps repeating the left-wing mantra that if we allocate millions for the army, we will run out of funds for healthcare. But the fact that the money will go to the army does not mean that there will not be enough of it for healthcare, homes for the elderly, housing for the young, and so on. Did Čordić take a look at all of the other government projects, inquire about the other government investments, make any calculations, and then found that the government allocated too much money to the army and thus ran out of it for other, “more important” investments? No, he did not do anything like that. He is abusing the ignorance of the people and falling prey to the provocations of Levica and the SD party, about all of the money that will be invested in the army, which means that we will run out of it for everything else. We found out that Zlatko did not, in fact, calculate anything. For such a calculation, he would also have to have standards, with which he could compare the investments of the current government.