SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

How Voters Poured Cold Water On Janša Government

In what can only be described as a landslide, voters in Muddy Hollows on Sunday rejected amendments to the Waters Act by an overwhelming margin. Voter turnout reached 45 percent, the highest in recent years. 86 percent voted against and only 13 voted in favour of the law. The voters effectively doused the government of Janez Janša in cold water.

A row of posters calling for rejection of the controversial Waters Act, urging people that the fate of fresh water is in their hands. — *Posters calling for rejection of the controversial law (photo by yours truly)*

The proposed changes to the legislation were fairly technical. But they were controversial enough to galvanise the opposition, a wide array of experts and – crucially – the civil society. The referendum was also the first chance for the electorate to show how they really felt about the Glorious Leader and his administration. And show they did. By flipping them a giant finger.

Batting for Hungarian Homophobe, Marshal Twito Imperils Slovenian EU Presidency

Janez Janša saw the 30th anniversary of Slovenian independence as something of a personal milestone. He is the only senior figure of the 1991 independence struggle who is still in public service. Everyone else is either retired, dead or in prison. It was to be a joyous occasion, crowned a few days later by Muddy Hollows taking over EU Council presidency.

Marshal Twito falsely accusing Delo's Brussels correspondent of lying. — *Janez Janša falsely accusing Delo’s Brussels correspondent of lying*

Instead, the Glorious Leader spent the anniversary week doing some light LGBT-bashing on the EU stage. With this, he was paying fealty to his Lord Protectór and then denied all of it, only to be, well, outed by none other than Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel. Awkward.

Election in Slovenia Less Than A Year Away

If pengovsky’s calculations are correct the good people of Muddy Hollows will go to the poll in less than a year. The 2022 election season is upon us and Janez Janša-led coalition has less than 365 days left. Perhaps a lot less.

Photo of a ballot box used in Slovenian election. — Standard issue ballot box in Muddy Hollows

In fact, Slovenians will go to the polls in exactly a month. Not be to elect new people’s representatives but to vote in a referendum on a controversial Waters Act. Still, the political parties are already in full-on campaign mode.

Fearing Factional Split, Janša’s SDS Invokes Civil War and Spectre of Communism

SDS, the party of PM Janez Janša seems to be in a bit of a pickle. With its congress just around the corner, it started sounding alarm over a supposedly looming civil war and the spectre of communism haunting Slovenia (to paraphrase a certain German philosopher).

PM Janša's party is rallying troops and trying to avoid a factional split by warning against civil war and communism. — *Part of Branko Grim’s letter denying being lacklustre in the Cause. (source)*

As both readers of this blog are well aware, alarmism and fearmongering are par for the course for the Party and its Glorious Leader. Still, toying with Parteiverbot and internecine violence is a new level of increasingly beligerent rhetortic of Janša’s party. So, what gives?

Dismantling Checks and Balances

News of Lilijana Kozlovič resigning as minister of justice earlier today, or to be precise, the reason for her resignation is yet another proof of what is euphemistically put as “democratic backsliding” in Slovenia. Better described as an increasingly authoritarian rule, the waste Marshal Twito is laying to the system of checks and balances is massive. It will also likely outlast his regime.

Clip-art bearing likeness to Janez Janša, giving finger to the system of checks and balances. — *A clip-art bearing suspicious likeness to PM Janša (source)*

Given enough time, many fuck-ups of Janez Janša’s third government will be reversed or corrected. The economy will pick up. Various health, social, and educational sub-systems will pull back from the brink. But over the past year or so, the entire system of democratic norms and institutions was put under immense strain, both in terms of baseline behaviour as well as shifting the legal balance of power. If either of these stay the norm – and chances are, they will – Muddy Hollows will be in deep shit regarding the future of its democracy.