If the former PM Janez Janša was known for running a tight ship and for occasionally pissing in other people’s pools, his successor, the current prime minister of the Sunny Side of the Alps apparently has a knack for stirring up shit in his own backyard. His HRM marks took a dive when he co-opted Dimitrij Rupel as his special general envoy (or something like that) which caused anger and disbelief among those who were more than happy to see Rupel meet his political demise (yours truly included).
Pahor and Janša (source)
However, Murhpy’s First Corollary seems to have come into effect: Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. Citing dire economic situation, both have (apparently independently) called for a bi-partisan political partnership which would unite most (if not all) political parties on a number of common goals. Which sounds peachy. But it is not.
Firstly, there is little need to create such a partnership two months into the first term of the new government. Granted, there are political advantages to this, mostly by spreading the blame around in case Murphy’s first law applies when this government tackles the crisis for real. But the Quartet wasn’t elected to spread the blame around but because they promised they’ll do the job better than the other guys.
Secondly, the most-beautiful of EU leaders is reinventing the wheel. When former PM Janez Janša tried to implement his neo-liberalistic “reform” package, he also tried to get other parties to bring non-coalition parties on-board as well. Back then Borut Pahor was only too eager to sign the deal. Truth be told, it was only LDS which refused to sign on to Janša’s document which in the end amounted to very little. There is every reason to believe that today the result would not be all that different. However, for Pahor’s government time is of the essence as economic conditions worsen daily. Rather than losing breath over bridging the political divide, the PM should go for broke and keep the responsibility solely with his government. If his team is really as good as advertised, then it is only right that his government takes all the glory of a swift economic recovery.
Thirdly, why give the opposition a helping hand in restoring their public image? It was the government of Janez Janša which drove up the inflation, the budget deficit and which refused to acknowledge the looming crisis. This was part of the reason they lost the elections. There is no moral, political or economic reason for PM Pahor to clean up their act for them. If the new government will tackle the crisis successfully, then the opposition will have no choice but to tag along. if however, Pahor messes things up, it is only right to have a vigilant opposition.
And finally. Upon assuming office, PM Pahor promised to bring the parliament back into the focus of decision-making. The proposed bi-partisan agreement would take the parliament and its rules of procedure out of the equation, just as it did during Janša’s regime. And that cannot be good.
Seeing what is going on, albeit merely on the surface, I just keep wondering what the heck is going on. Not passing judgement as yet, just not being able to comprehend the actions being taken and the words being uttered.
I believe that the current Government possesses sufficient human resources and political legitimacy to tackle the problems head on, without pre-emptive shielding up.
Yes, involve the creative minds of the opposition and harness them in the making of a better future for the country, but by letting them do their work. The work of the opposition. The group of hopefully well-qualified people monitoring the Government’s work, making useful suggestions and raising hell if things aren’t being done properly.
Anyway, I’ll second this post.
While your words sound very wise, Dr. Fil, and we may have reasons to worry about the sudden disappearance of oppositions everywhere (America? Germany?) the funny thing is, the Slovenian government isn’t the only one craving harmony: there’s so much cuddling going on in Germany right now I wonder whether we shouldn’t be very worried about our economy. You know, it’s the super election year here (German and European elections) and no fighting has taken place yet, at least nothing really interesting. ?
Alcessa, this is an interesting observation. One might argue that a common enemy, in this case the role being played by the global financial and economic crisis, acts as a unifying force.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with working harmoniously, I just don’t see a reason for any sort of pacts. Let there be harmony for as long as it is justified, i.e. until there is good reason for disagreement, which then cannot be suppressed by some document.