A closer look at how democratic institutions in Slovenia were hollowed out—while Brussels applauded the performance.
Three years ago, events in Slovenia took a deeply troubling turn.
Those of us who understood the true state of affairs watched in dismay as well-funded lobbyists portrayed a reality in direct contradiction to what was actually unfolding in the country. While socialists had already secured control over the judiciary and were orchestrating politically motivated show trials against the opposition, they portrayed themselves in Brussels as victims of social media posts on Twitter.
Despite already dominating nearly all major media outlets in Slovenia, they pointed to a small opposition outlet with only 2% market reach as a supposed threat to democracy. Efforts to diversify the media space—so that voices beyond the socialist establishment could be heard—were cynically framed as attempts to hijack the media.
In this context, European commissioners with sympathies toward socialist ideologies, such as Věra Jourová and Sophie in ’t Veld, actively participated in the erosion of democracy and freedom in Slovenia. Under the banner of the “rule of law,” Brussels endorsed the subjugation of all branches of Slovenian government to socialist control.
As a result, socialists now hold not only the judiciary and the Constitutional Court, but also the presidency, the government, the national assembly, and more than 90% of the media landscape. This political imbalance is the inevitable outcome of a historical reality: in the past 80 years, right-leaning governments in Slovenia have held power for less than a tenth of that time. For the remaining nine-tenths, all levers of authority have remained in the hands of various socialist administrations.
This letter, presented today by former chairman of the programming council of RTV Slovenia, Peter Gregorčič, to the fact-finding delegation of the European People’s Party, sheds light on the stage-managed backdrop of our own Theresienstadt—illustrated through the case of the now-captured public broadcaster and the Constitutional Court.
