During the term of the government of Janez Janša, the European Commission sent a special delegation to Slovenia to deal with alleged threats to the rule of law and media freedom, based on fabricated reports by Slovenian left-wing activists. It was rumoured that journalists dare not leave their apartments and that they are being intimidated and financially drained by members of the Janša government and its ministers to the point where they cannot do their jobs. MEPs even whispered in the European Parliament that the government “refuses to approve the budget of the national media outlet, Radio-Television Slovenia – RTV” (not realising that RTV is financed by the citizens themselves through a forced contribution). In the end, it turned out that it was all a bunch of lies and exaggerations. Then came the Golob government, which REALLY put political pressure on journalists. The European Commission remained silent because a left-wing government was in power. But the international indices still detect the truth.
The World Press Freedom Index 2024 ranks Slovenia 42nd, practically behind all serious Western European countries, including Croatia. We are even behind certain more exotic countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica …
Janša: “Congratulations to the government!”
The leader of the opposition, Janez Janša, also spoke out about the matter, writing on the X social network: “!! Freedom of the media – Slovenia in 2024 worse than Macedonia, Montenegro or South Africa. Congratulations to the government and Commissioner Věra Jourová.” His response is very appropriate, given the situation.
In 2024, the European Commission’s famous Rule of Law Report noted that Slovenia had made progress in all areas, a shameful and laughable finding, but understandable given that the rapporteurs are mainly far-left activists in the service of the Slovenian political left.
So the European Commission has concluded that the government is making progress after having done nothing to break up the media monopolies (under this government, the media tycoon Odlazek has even strengthened and expanded his network of companies – with the active support of the current government, of course), and Prime Minister Robert Golob has even admitted himself that he helped “clean out the Janšaists (supporters of Janša)” in the police and at RTV.
The index does not show the extent of the pogrom against the media
However, the index, which is formulated by the far-left organisation Reporters Without Borders, does not reflect the true situation of the state of journalistic freedom in Slovenia. Last year, Reporters Without Borders placed Slovenia as high as 50th place, and two years ago, during the Janša government, we were at 54th place, as they labelled the media freedom in our country as “problematic” on the basis of the same false reports by far-left activists who helped write the Rule of Law Report.
If the index had really tracked what was happening on the ground (instead of believing its “friends” in the Slovenian left-wing political-media conglomerate), it would have placed Slovenia near the tail-end of the countries, alongside Venezuela and Cuba. There are few other places where politicians persecute and pressure politicians, even through the use of public media.
It is also worth noting that Golob (before the “purge of the Janšaists” under the Radio-Television Slovenia Act) refused to answer questions from RTV Slovenia journalists when asked about his controversial dealings in the Balkans. Can you imagine the reaction in Brussels and from Reporters Without Borders if Janez Janša had done that?
I. K.
