In recent days, the director of the left-wing non-governmental organisation, the 8th of March Institute (Inštitut 8. marec), “boasted” on social media that she got the Kranj District Court to convict the columnist of the Demokracija (Democracy) magazine, Vinko Vasle, for the words he had written about her. So much for freedom of speech, but even more for the double standards that Nika Kovač has exposed, according to political analyst Mitja Iršič.
The judgement orders Vinko Vasle to pay a fine of 1,200 euros for a post on Twitter (now X) from 2022. Nika Kovač filed the private criminal lawsuit because the offensive postings allegedly had a negative impact on her, which, according to the Institute, also resulted in physical and verbal attacks on the street. In light of their statement, it is worth noting that “hate speech” is incited by the members of the Institute themselves and goes unpunished, on the contrary – they are even rewarded for it.
Political analyst Mitja Iršič pointed out on the social network X that left-wing actors, including the 8th of March Institute, often use offensive and hateful language, but are apparently not sanctioned for it. Iršič referred to the publication entitled Faces of Intolerance: A Catalogue of Left-Wing Hatred, which was recently published by Demokracija.
It documents more than 600 hateful statements by left-wing activists, politicians and journalists. These include such words as “fascist”, “Janšaists”, “scum”, “shit”, and even sexist remarks that are often overlooked by the left, the self-proclaimed champion of women’s rights. In light of Demokracija’s cover story, Iršič wrote: “Two bulletins of thousands of examples of hate speech by eminent leftists. Intimidation, death threats, humiliation, slander, humiliation of children and women, incitement to rape…Not a single one has ever been convicted. The 8th of March Institute can only be thanked for exposing the double standards.”
Cases such as the public call for the “death of Janšaism” expressed by some left-wing activists at protests have not been prosecuted. The slogan “Death to Janšaism, freedom to the nation” regularly appeared at rallies, but no one was punished for it, let alone convicted. On the contrary, such statements have often been glorified by the left, while individuals who insult left-wing political figures face lawsuits and convictions. An example is the prosecution of psychoanalyst Roman Vodeb for allegedly “insulting” the Speaker of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, while insults such as “fascist” or even calls for the murder of the former Prime Minister are tolerated.
The influence of the media and the judiciary
The reason for the double standards lies in the dominant role of the left in key social subsystems, notably the media and the judiciary. The dominant media often condone or ignore hate speech by left-wing actors, while quickly condemning right-wing statements. People who openly express intolerance towards dissent are often the darlings of the mainstream media, which promotes their statements and gives them a platform. At the same time, the justice system only sanctions certain types of speech, creating the impression that the prosecution of hostility is selective and politically motivated – a good example of this is Ludvik Tomšič, who simply “went home unpunished” after calling for the death of Janez Janša.
The case of Robert Golob, who, before assuming the premiership, called his opponents “fascists” and called for a reckoning with “Janšaists”, shows how hate speech is normalised at the top of the power pyramid. As is publicly known, after the 2022 election victory, some supporters of the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda) demanded revenge against political opponents, reminiscent of the patterns of the former communist regime. Such behaviour not only goes unpunished, but is often rewarded with media attention and political influence.
While individuals are prosecuted for “offensive” posts, left-wing actors have no qualms about using similar or even worse language against their opponents. Their silence in the face of documented examples of left-wing hatred, such as those in the Demokracija catalogue, reveals duplicity. Instead of advocating equal standards for all, they use the legal system as a tool to silence critics while enjoying immunity themselves.
“According to the criteria of this judgment, there is material for lawsuits on social networks in Slovenia equal to the GDP of North Korea and Cuba combined,” wrote Dr Igor Muževič on X. “We don’t have courts, it’s called a society of friends of left-leaning trolls.”
A. H.
