When Violeta Bulc ran for the position of European Commissioner, the Brussels-based New Europe wondered how valuable her master’s degree really is and wrote: “An eccentric choice of a candidate who seems to believe in everything but science.” Der Spiegel also acknowledged that “walking on hot coals is generally not one of the skills expected of candidates applying for the position of Commissioner.” Namely, Bulc is also a shaman, and it would probably be best if she stuck to her primary profession. She obviously does not know much about the vaccines, but it seems that she believes the exact opposite to be true, as she confidently opposes experts in this field. “The vaccines should actually be called experimental genetic therapy,” she advised, among other things, and someone on Twitter then asked her whether that means that she believes that Zlatan Čordić, Anica Bidar and Anis Ličina – who have as much knowledge among the three of them as someone who finished a three-year vocational school, but way more experience with crime – know more about covid than all of the epidemiologists put together. Namely, the shaman does not agree with the biochemist dr. Roman Jeral. The assessment that she believes in everything but science has proven to be accurate.
It does not happen often, but sometimes a statement is so stupid that it even brings together the left and the right. Violeta Bulc, a former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Cohesion, European Commissioner and shaman – all in one person, outdid even herself this time. She responded to an interview with dr. Roman Jerala from the National Institute of Chemistry, with the following statement: “Transparent communication is also appropriate. The vaccines should actually be called experimental genetic therapy, which, of course, can also serve a specific purpose; however, it is only fair that we understand what stage of the management of the epidemic we are in!”
Back to the vaccine talk. In the interview, Jerala spoke mainly about vaccines, which is, of course, currently the hottest topic all over the world, and something that more and more armchair experts seem to know everything about. Jerala also responded to Bulc’s “clever” suggestion on Twitter, writing: “Why discourage as many people as possible from getting vaccinated? Why would you call the vaccines experimental? The purpose of clinical testing is to verify the efficiency and safety of the vaccines, after which they are no longer considered to be experimental. Why would you call them genetic, if we are not changing the genome with them? The vaccines generally trigger a protective immune response, and the ones in question do the exact same thing!” Bulc then responded to this, writing that while she appreciates Jerala very much (even though she spelled his last name incorrectly), she is also well aware that the protocols for the introduction of new vaccines have supposedly been violated. “And instead of being tested in laboratories, they are being tested on humans.” Her statements are, of course, far from the truth, as covid vaccines were also tested according to the same procedure and standards as all of the other vaccines.
Former secretary of the LDS party, Uroš Petohleb, also responded to the Twitter post of the self-proclaimed shaman Bulc, who seems to believe that walking on hot coal is the most important cure for all diseases. Petohleb wrote that he Is very much hoping that Bulc will avoid politics from now on, and vice-versa, especially after everything we have experienced in the last year, as we really do not need another thing to happen to us. “And I would also like to know how she got to the genetic part. These are just empty words,” Petohleb assessed Bulc’s “expert” comment.
Some believe that statement like this can be quietly ignored if heard over coffee or beer with a friend. However, such a statement made by the former EU Commissioner should be reported to an appropriate institution, as one of the Twitter users wrote. We would just like to remind you once again that Violeta Bulc was a representative of the European Commission and, in view of her position, she should strictly respect law and order of the European Union; however, with her statements, she only proved that she does not respect the findings of science, the European Health Agency, or the very institution she was once a part of. And above all, the statement shows us just how much at odds with reality the person who was sent to Brussels to represent our country there, in the position of commissioner, really is. It is not all that surprising, really, that Bulc, along with Commissioner Vera Jourova, ranked among the worst-rated commissioners of the previous term.
Sara Bertoncelj
