“Look, people have to work for 40 years. Two hundred thousand of them don’t even have a pension of 750 euros. All of these people are artists, because surviving with such a low amount of money is art,” MP Zvonko Černač of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) pointed out on a recent episode of the show 24ur Zvečer, in opposition to the granting of pension supplements for outstanding artistic achievements, as he could not understand how, for example, breastfeeding a dog could constitute a cultural achievement that grants you a golden pension.
After the National Assembly, following a veto by the National Council, reaffirmed the granting of pension supplements for outstanding artistic achievements, which would have given certain retired individuals a supplement of up to 1,500 euros on top of their already existing pensions, the Slovenian Democratic Party has now announced that it will start collecting signatures for a subsequent legislative referendum.
On the 24ur Zvečer programme, MP Zvonko Černač showed a photo of artist Maja Smrekar, winner of the Prešeren Fund award, breastfeeding her dog. “Is this worth two to three thousand euros?” he asked. Then Asta Vrečko, the Minister of Culture and coordinator of the coalition Left party (Levica), commented that it was manipulation. “You should be ashamed of yourself; you should be ashamed of yourself!” she said. MP Černač, referring to the breastfeeding of the dog, then added: “Is this maybe fit for a different kind of institution? Excuse me, that is what you are doing with this law.” Judging by the expression on her face, the Minister did not like what he was saying.
MP Černač: Abolish the exceptional pensions
On the show, MP Černač stressed that these exceptional pensions in the field of art should be abolished, instead of the pool of beneficiaries being broadened. “You should know that these are pensions of over 3 thousand euros when the supplement is 100 percent, or between 2 and 3 thousand euros when the supplement is 50 percent,” he explained, adding that it would be only right for the people to decide on this. “First, we need to collect 2,500 signatures in seven days, and then the Speaker of the National Assembly has to call a deadline to collect 40 thousand signatures.”
“This is a law that will allow a few hundred beneficiaries to obtain these exceptional pensions in a few years,” the MP further explained, adding that this is happening in the same period of time that Luka Mesec, Asta Vrečko’s ministerial colleague, is working on new pension legislation, where the matter is going in the opposite direction. “Instead of twenty-four years, the pension will be calculated for all forty years, which means that if the calculation percentage is not increased, these pensions will be lower, and in the same period, this government is legislating pensions for privileged individuals of more than 3,000 euros,” he added, explaining that those who receive a 100 percent supplement are entitled to the highest pension for the full period of pensionable service.
The SDS party holds the ruling parties responsible for the costs of the referendum
Responding to criticism about the costs of the referendum, MP Černač said that the responsibility lies with the ruling parties. “If this law had not been forced through, there would have been no need for a referendum. We have decided on it three times; three times, we have explained why this law is not appropriate,” he noted. As he also pointed out, the law reads as follows: “The 100 percent supplement increases the existing pension up to the maximum for the full pensionable period, which is currently 3,055 euros, but now with this adjustment, it will be 3,200 euros.” “Those who get 50 percent, which are the Prešeren Fund winners, who have one additional award, get half of that, that is between 2 and 3 thousand euros,” he added, showing another photo of a Prešeren Fund winner. Specifically, a photo of Simona Semenič, in which she is wrapped in the Slovenian flag and has the coat of arms cut out of it. “Is this worth an exceptional pension when she qualifies?” Černač was critical.
The people who manage to survive with a pension of 750 euros are the true artists
Minister Vrečko expressed her indignation that a legislative referendum is being called before Prešeren Day and that culture is being denigrated. “This is unpatriotic, and it is anti-state-building,” she insisted. However, MP Černač pointed out on the programme that people have to work for 40 years for their pensions. “200 thousand of them don’t even have a pension of 750 euros. All of these people are artists, because surviving with such a low amount of money is art. They should be given the supplements,” the MP pointed out. To this, the Minister responded that this was plain populism and politicking.
Černač, who pointed out that not a single cent had been paid into the pension coffers for these allowances, announced that the referendum question would be very simple: “Are you in favour of this law, which grants exceptional pensions in the field of art, being enforced? Yes or no?” The Minister, on the other hand, insisted that she thought it would be state-building to support this law. “It is a recognition of top artists, those who strengthen our country,” she insisted, adding that no exceptional allowance would be given out without serious consideration. “These are awards for a lifetime’s work.” We don’t have many people like that, she noted, and these people, she said, “make our country more relevant, fuller, and enrich our lives through their work and art.” Nevertheless, MP Černač insisted that we do not need any exceptional pensions.
S. K.
