Nika Kovač is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable faces of the left, as the mainstream media promotes her as a kind of rock star. They are trying to create the impression that she is a completely independent non-governmental organisation worker whose goal is the welfare of a wider part of society. In doing so, of course, they keep silent about the fact that Kovač, together with like-minded people, is essentially pursuing goals on behalf of parties on the left pole. Even if the latter will probably never admit it publicly, and neither will the parties behind it, the way the institute operates, and its financing are in themselves the most telling.
The March 8th Institute is a feminist organisation that is actively involved in a whole bunch of campaigns where political parties otherwise participate. Let’s remember. In addition to constantly criticising the previous centre-right government, they got involved in the case of the water referendum. They were particularly active in the pre-election campaign before the parliamentary elections, where they agitated for the left political pole under the guise of encouraging participation in the elections. Since they did not act as a party, of course they did not have open electoral accounts. The result of the election showed that they ran a successful campaign, as the parties SD, Levica, and Gibanje Svoboda are in power, and the parties of the former KUL, LMŠ and SAB also drowned in the latter party, even though the citizens told them “Stop!”. As the fate of the harmful Golob laws will be decided on November 27th, it is not surprising that the institute is also active in this, as they are trying to help the authorities to completely politicise the public RTVS, to end long-term care, and to increase the number of ministries where to the detriment of Slovenian taxpayers, they could employ theirs and all those who contributed to the victory of the left pole.
Although they claim that the institute is a non-governmental organisation, in reality it is an organisation that is non-governmental in name only. Here we actually have a hidden political party that does not participate in elections. Instead, this is what the parties Levica, SD, and Gibanje Svoboda do. If someone asks how it is possible that Nika Kovač has such an influence, given that their events are not exactly massively attended, the answer is right in the palm of your hand. This is possible at the expense of the influence in the mainstream media that the parties of the left pole have. Since the parties realise that it is more effective if the people are not addressed by the presidents of the parties, it is not surprising that they have found a kind of frontwoman whom they sell as a representative of civil society. She “coincidentally” has the same interests as the left political pole.
The authorities take care of financing their activities
While Nika pretends in the media that the regime does not finance them and that they live only on small voluntary contributions, the authorities are in fact funnelling state money to March 8th Institute. Namely, the regime parties are the ones who rent the stands and provide the volunteers who wear the March 8th badges and agitate for the realisation of their political interests. These activities are thus not recognised at all on the institute’s balance sheet. That this is how things work in practice was revealed in the past by one of the members of the radical Levica party, who accused Nika of what they do for her, while she speaks badly of them.
“We collected over 10,000 verified signatures in your campaign. The volunteers stood in front of the administrative unit for two months without signs of the party,” he wrote as a reminder to Kovač, adding that for two months they paid the rent of her stand on Prešeren square at 150 euros per day. “On those days when you oversaw the volunteers, the stand was empty,” he added and let it be known that he was angry at the expense of their ingratitude and spitting on the Levica party, which allegedly gave the March 8th Institute more than 10,000 euros during the campaign.
One source of funding for the Institute’s activities is therefore carried out by the parties, and the other by left-wing foundations from abroad. In one of the interviews in February of this year (for Domžalske novice) on the subject of the Institute, it can be read that this year it started to cooperate with two foundations: Planned Parenthood and Guerrilla Foundation. “Now we can pay ourselves some fees and travel expenses. But we do not receive taxpayer money,” it was stated. While the Guerrilla Foundation deals with the financing of activist movements (anarchist, feminist movements) under the guise of fighting inequality, Planned Parenthood is a non-profit and abortionist organisation that fights for “reproductive rights”, i.e., the right to have an abortion. Considering the nature of their orientation, it is of course not surprising why they decided to support Nika’s Feminist Institute in the first place.
Many people were rightfully surprised recently when former US President Barack Obama told a story on The Daily Show about how a referendum on domestic violence was held in Slovenia. Supposedly, twice. Of course, it was organised by his scholarship recipient Nika Kovač. Since we in Slovenia know very well that this referendum did not happen, it is quite possible to draw the conclusion that Obama was tricked in this case. Therefore, if there are no obstacles here, it is logical that many people in this case draw the conclusion that it is completely naïve to expect a fair attitude towards Slovenian voters.
Obama’s interview is undoubtedly important, because with it, as President Borut Pahor often expresses it, “the bitter truth was told” to Slovenians, who bought the story about how, in the case of Nika, she is supposedly a completely independent non-governmental organisation worker whose sole aim is to pursue the best interests of fellow citizens. Even if one knows her good family background, it quickly becomes clear to him that everything is not as it seems at first glance. Namely, Nika Kovač is the granddaughter of former LDS member Božo Kovač, a prominent member of Forum 21. But this interview revealed how the modus operandi of the currently ruling government is going. People are manipulated a lot.
“The aforementioned Institute, which in conjunction with the media and street activists (Jenull, Glas ljudstva…) constantly resonates with the public and openly and actively promotes the government of Robert Golob, is of course doing this by design. It is a policy subcontractor and apparently has its own international mentors, only the funding is hidden. The activity, which has developed and consolidated its network through Friday cycling and the euphoric feeling of the anti-Janša revolution, does not have particularly high-flying goals. It is about the power and authority of their clients, not about the development and democracy of Slovenia,” emphasised political analyst Edvard Kadič in his column, adding that it is about brutal political turbo-capitalism and the securing of long-term positions for transitional privatisers who achieve their goals with the help of subcontractors. “At the expense of manipulating voters. This is the core of the problem, manipulating the public. It is about selling stories that are simply not true. Stories about Janša’s dictatorship, the suffering of RTV employees, shouts of “we are all Saša” and apparently also about the non-existent referendums for Obama. This is the modus operandi,” he explained.
S. K.
