Culture cuts protest in Slovenia against populist government

There is turmoil in Slovenia ’s cultural scene after the parliament led by the populist and conservative majority, which answers to President Janez Janša, already at the center of criticism for much-discussed appointments to key positions in cultural institutions, approved the state budget for 2022 on December 8 with 77 votes in favor and 48 against. In recent days, Slovenian civil society has voiced its concern over the cuts inflicted on NGOs dealing with culture, which see their allocated funds drastically reduced: in fact, they are reduced from the 6.4 million euros initially planned to the 3.6 actually granted.

The substantial cut has alarmed Asociacija, a major network of nongovernmental organizations and cultural figures, which has therefore appealed to the government, Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti, and MPs to preserve Slovenian culture. “Although a high percentage of funding is earmarked for culture in 2022 and 2023,” writes Igor Brato in the daily Delo, “it is noted that reductions are planned on individual items: promotion of cultural creativity, publishing, and amateur culture. The biggest cut is in the item of promotion of cultural creativity, through which the state co-finances programs and projects of non-governmental organizations. With the supplementary budget for 2022, funds of just over 6.4 million euros (6,446,728 to be exact) in the originally adopted budget will be reduced to about 3.6 million euros (3,633,399). The decision, Asociacija adds, will certainly significantly affect the non-institutional cultural landscape, which is an integral part of the national cultural and artistic ecosystem.”

“The government’s move,” Asociacija denounces, “should be understood as a continuation of the process of destabilization of the sector that began last year, when we witnessed everything from attempts to relocate organizations to Metelkova 6 to very problematic actions with regard to the media.” (Metelkova 6 was home to some 20 arts ngos reached last year by an eviction order from the Ministry of Culture, the owner of the premises: the associations strongly opposed it and at the moment the matter is still ongoing, the outcome will come in the coming months). In Slovenia, the problem is very much felt because the sector of culture produced from below, and in particular by NGOs, is growing very strongly, is one of the prides of national culture, and in Asociacija’s opinion should, if anything, be supported: the risk, otherwise, is to jeopardize the activity of many amateur associations (including also orchestras, choirs, groups dedicated to folk traditions: much of this activity in Slovenia is conducted non-professionally). “Are we aware,” Asociacija writes in its appeal, “of the consequences that such an attitude toward culture will have when important cultural centers in the country close? When internationally recognized cultural connections disappear? When there will be no more domestic and foreign visitors?”

Among the most affected institutions (and consequently among those most active in the protests) is the Glej Theater, one of the most important in the country: the cut in funding for culture from nongovernmental organizations, reports the daily Mladina, calls into question the very existence of the theater, one of the few spaces for contemporary authored theater in Slovenia, a vital institution for young artists as well, in uninterrupted operation since 1970 (it is the oldest independent theater in the country). And now it is forced to ask for help from its audience. “We know that we are not the only ones paying the price of cuts for nongovernmental production, as funding has not been granted to many other high-quality applicants,” the theater said in a note. “And we know that the worst is yet to come for the industry. The cut then affected us even more because we are already in our second year of fighting the coronavirus, due to which we have spent most of our time closed or with drastically reduced capacity since 2020. Despite impossible working conditions, we completed both of the last seasons in full. At Glej we had a program ready for the next four years and beyond, with some of the most award-winning, recognized and high-profile artists on the international scene. Our mission has always been a risky one, in that we have also dedicated space to those who have not yet come a long way, those who dare to go against the grain and those who break pre-established patterns. And that risk has paid off time and time again. Many artists who debuted at the Glej today create theatrical stories of the biggest houses, belong to the Slovenian theatrical canon and collect awards at home and abroad. As our historical duty, we feel we must continue to leave this space open to create new stories of this kind. Risky, but necessary for the development of contemporary Slovenian theater. We would not have been able to do this without the support of the City of Ljubljana, which recognizes our quality and has been programmatically funding us for decades. We are also supported by the European Commission, the Center for Creativity, the Ministry of Public Administration, the Public Cultural Activities Fund and sponsors. Thank you for having confidence in us. However, the Ministry of Culture has been our biggest funder, which has created a gap in our plans that we cannot fill without help. We have decided to try to implement the 2022 program as fully as possible at the expense of drastically reducing labor and program costs. We appeal to our public and supporters to help us through the worst of it through a donation campaign.”

Still, the Manska Institute, which has been active in contemporary art production since 1993, came forward and wrote a scathing letter stating that “most of the rejected organizations have one thing in common. Last time, when their funding was cut, four organizations filed an action against the Ministry of Culture, and the administrative court ruled that their applications be reviewed. After the committee’s review, two other institutions (Maska and Emanat) received co-funding. All the organizations that appealed at the time were rejected again this year. The cut in funding has become a means of punishment and suppression of speech and creativity. These organizations share another characteristic, namely their socio-political engagement against the ruling authorities and their practices, which tend to be bold in terms of format and content and create space for experimentation and confrontation with the unknown. One could say that this is a deliberate attempt to destroy a group of boundary-pushing organizations. It is a move of a narrow and conservative cultural policy, a policy of revanchism.”

Then there are fears for press freedom: President Janša, writes the Euronews news outlet, is considered the European Trump, since he has often instigated attacks against journalists, calling them “liars” and even going so far as to blatantly call journalists Evgenija Carl and Mojca Setinc Pašek " prostitutes." In addition, important press organs, such as the STA news agency and the RTA Slovenija network, the country’s public broadcasting corporation (in practice, Slovenia’s RAI) have come under the government’s crosshairs, the subject of numerous attacks. In November 2021, journalists from RTV Slovenija’s television section also protested the proposed new production plan, which the professionals said would harm the network’s mission. “The proposal for 2022,” Igor Bergant, general director of RTV Slovenija, said then, “interferes with key broadcasts, deletes some of them or replaces them with other broadcasts. The plan is vague, but it is not clear how it can be implemented with the best will [...]. At the same time, the proposed changes do not solve what the proponents of the plan refer to, the problem of ratings. Information is not the only one, but it is certainly one of the key missions of European broadcasters. The ratings are influenced by various factors: quality of content, frequency of publication, publication time, tradition of broadcasting, promotion of content, and, ultimately, ratings of previous broadcasts. Unfortunately, the proposed plan does not offer meaningful solutions.”

Recently, the Civicus network, which has been working around the world for two decades to monitor the status of citizens’ fundamental freedoms in different countries, devoted a lot of attention to the case of Slovenia, speaking openly about “attempts to reduce the spaces of civil society with severe cuts in funding for non-governmental organizations in culture and the environment.”

Image: view of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia

Culture cuts protest in Slovenia against populist government

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