Friday last Slovene parliament voted on a rather important piece of legislation – the regions. Non-Slovene regulars to this puny little blog have heard of read of Štajerska, Primorska, Dolenjska, Gorenjska, Prekmurje, and other Slovene regions. But speaking from a constitutional point of view Slovenia never had regions – only municipalities (the so called first layer of self-government). Two hundred and ten of them.
The proposed division into regions which was not to be (source)
But as the drive for municipalities got out of hand, more and more people realized that a further division on a new level is needed, which brings us to regions. But as they were not created simultaneously with municipalities the latter were given enormous powers which they are unwilling to relinquish them in favour of regions. For example: Municipality of Sveti Miklavž na Dravskem polju which boasts some 5900 individuals (a tenth of whom are unemployed) has exactly the same powers as the City of Ljubljana (pop. 270.000), meaning that it can establish schools, primary health care, fire and civil defence, it has its own municipal council, municipal government, et cetera…
Out of 210 Slovene municipalities 198 are unable to sustain themselves which means that the state chips in on a regular basis (all municipalities get state funds, but some disproportionally more than others). All the more so if the mayor happens to be an MP as well which is the case with quite a few Slovene members of parliament. Especially they are vigorously opposed to creation of regions as it would most likely cost them their seat in the parliament. You know – no money, no funny. And if they don’t bring the dough no more, the people gonna find themselves someone who do…
So passing the legislation on regions is nearly impossible in Slovenia as long as mayors can also serve as MPs and vice versa.
Having said that, however, Prime Minister Janez Janša knew that and still pressed on with the legislation which didn’t even enjoy the support of all ministers (minister for civil service was vigorously opposed). He pressed on and failed. Which is no disaster unto itself. Regions can wait. The only problem is that this was the last of the “big” project of Janez Janša and his government. He just fired his last usable round of political ammo and missed, which brings the total sum of his four years in office to a complete zero.
Want a rundown?
- He ran on a ticket of radical neo-liberal reforms and all he could manage was a reduced tax scale because the unions went apeshit. Ass-whooping numero un.
- He tried to take Ljubljana in local elections by backing France Arhar but people owerwhelmingly voted for Zoran Janković. Ass-whooping numero dos.
- He tried to subjugate the media and instead Laško snacthed Delo and Večer from him. Ass-whooping numero tres.
- He tried to get his candidate elected in presidential elections but the people went for left-wing Danilo Türk. Ass-whooping cuatro.
- He made a big show of “a new start” in relations between Slovenia and Croatia, but Croatia presented him with an extended maritime area of control. Ass-whooping numero cinco.
- He boasted of high GDP growth (even sans reforms) but got us higher inflation which ain’t going away even when the growth cools dows. Ass-whooping numero seis.
- He vehemently started presiding over the EU but didn’t even last a week without screwing up and having Potrugese PM slam him over a careless remark. Ass-whooping numero sete.
- And now he proposed legislation on regions, but crashed and burned magnificently in the parliament. Ass-whooping supreme (number eight, if you’re still keeping count)
So, the total result of Janša’s first term in office thusfar (some eight months before the elections) is: Zero. Zilch. Niente. Nothing. Nada.
Her name is Urška, not Nada!
Nič hudega saj je lahko tudi Nada he,he
I always read your posts with great interest, but I can’t help but wonder what the source of your animosity towards Jansa is. Is it personal? Has he really been as bad for Slovenia as you make out?
@Matteo: Thanks for asking! 😀 Obivously it depends on one’s point of view.
I would venture to argue that it really is that bad, whereas others would probalby say that Janša fared much better than expected in an extremely hostile enviroment upon which a fierece word-fight would ensue on whether the enviroment really is that hostile (words used would include but would not be limited to: communism, Milan Kučan, World War II, Zoran Janković, media, tycoons, Tito, Stalin, corruption, etc…)
It all boils down to one’s set of beliefs. If you believe that power must be checked time and again, that decisions must be second-guessed if only to be re-confirmed, then you are likely to find that under Janša’s rule things are not as advertised.
If you however believe that power is something one owns until it is taken from him/her by any means possible and that loyality (and not necesarilly sound policy) is a prerequisite for a suceesful government, then you are likely to see a totally different picture.
This goes for any government, not just Janša’s. But you see, the main reason he was elected was a combination of anti-corruption, sligthly pro-nationalist and neo-liberal agenda. But it seems (to me at least) that the moment he got the mandate he went “my turn!” and went about asserting power instead of asserting policy.
He’s not a bad politican – au contraire! But he promised so much and delivered so little. And he would have done better if he didn’t touch legislation on regions even with a ten-foot pole. But he did and he got burned.
The stakes were high and if he somehow managed to pass it, it would be probably the single most important political achievment after joining the EU. But as it is, it is just one more in a series of political failures.
@Pengovsky:
The thing about Slovene muncipalities is that 200 of them are on the dark side of the Rapal border(the LJ side..). If you have a good explanation why eastern Slovenes believe in reproducing by splitting, maybe you could share it? To me it doesn’t make sense that every single little village would be it’s own muncipality…
@gandalf: Quite simple, actually. It has to do with financing – a small municipality get proportionally more money than it would if it were a part of a bigger municipality. So Sveti Miklavž na Dravskem polju gets more money on its own than it would were it a part of Municipality Ptuj (or Maribor or whatever).
The problem which everyone seems to forget is that small municipalities get far less money in absolute terms hindering development even further.
So even if Sveti Miklavž na Dravskem polju gets more money per capita, it still can’t afford to pay for (say) new sewage, but were it a part of a larger municipality the sheer assests of a bigger municipality could accelerate the pace of development.
But as it is, small municipalities need (and get) even more money from the state. And as a number of MPs are also mayors of these municipalities they are fiercly opposed to any change in financing, encouraging further splits. Naturally. 🙂
I think any town with a name like Sveti Miklavž na Dravskem polju deserves its very own municipality.
Oh, there are other examples as well 🙂 Like Sveti Andraž v Slovenskih goricah (pop. 1209), Ribnica na Pohorju (pop. 1254), Razkrižje (pop. 1215), Trnovska vas (pop. 1208), and last but not least, municipality of Kobilje with a staggering population of five hundred and seventy souls….
@pirano: That’s fine as long as it includes Maribor and Ptuj.
Sveti Miklavž na Dravskem polju… I saw that name the other day it is amazing..
Oh yeah, so unlike Sankt Johann im Rosental, Finkenstein am Faaker See, or… Krottendorf bei Neuhaus am Klausenbach 😈
@dr. fil: ROTFL!
From the text: Out of 210 Slovene municipalities 198 are unable to sustain themselves which means that the state chips in on a regular basis (all municipalities get state funds, but some disproportionally more than others).
This is hardly suprising information if one takes into consideration what was the policy of the governments in Ljubljana since 1945 in regard of the development of the countryside. Or “periferija” as they like to say in Ljubljana.
Their policy was not to have any policy at all!
Or better: Their only policy of the policy was that all the taxpayer’s money goes straight to Ljubljana which then – if we behave like Ljubljana wants – will give us our of merciful charity some small bread crumbs from the table.
He ran on a ticket of radical neo-liberal reforms and all he could manage was a reduced tax scale because the unions went apeshit. Ass-whooping numero un.
No Pengy. All what THEY could manage. You know very well who was breaking the reforms and it was not Janša. Still, some reforms have been done, particularly in the area of payment discipline, bureacracy and support for the small enterprises. Ask any d.o.o. whether situation today is much more difficult for them as it was before 2004. Ask them.
He tried to take Ljubljana in local elections by backing France Arhar but people owerwhelmingly voted for Zoran Janković. Ass-whooping numero dos.
Evo, Pengy has again wandered in the waters of dillerium. To take Ljubljana? Why the hell would he try to do that? The city is ugly, grey, with traffic chaos… and with abnormal number of idiots in the city administration. Nobody in his sane mind would want to take such a city. Janša said perfectly clear and simple after the elections: “Ljubljana got a mayor she deserves”. I think this summarizes it all.
He tried to subjugate the media and instead Laško snacthed Delo and Večer from him. Ass-whooping numero tres.
Let me see if I got this right:
Janša as a prime minister sold the state-run funds KAD and SOD of DELO and Večer to Pivovarna Laško, whose owner by the way was (is’) a prominent member of the main opposition party, so that he could subjugate them? Am I missing something in this story or you think all people are plain stupid?? Why would he sell them if by becoming a prime minister he had a tight control via state owned KAD and SOD and could easily manipulate like LDS and SD did in the past (Dear Borut, Dear Tone)?!?! Please don’t insult our intelligence with such nonsense scenarios. When KAD and SOD sold their shares to the Pivovarna Lasko I did not hear a single voice against that! On the controrary? Even Lesjak the editor of Dnevnik applauded this decision which in his eyes was the right decision for the state to move out. Don’t believe me? Here
Konkurenca pozitivno o prevzemu Dela
Na Delu za komentarje niso bili dosegljivi (Foto: Dare Čekeliš) Prav je, da se paradržavni skladi umaknejo iz medijev, vprašanje pa je, kaj bo s svojim deležem v časopisno-založniški hiši Delo sedaj naredila Pivovarna Laško, je prevzem prek 94-odstotnega lastniškega deleža Dela komentiral odgovorni urednik Dnevnika Miran Lesjak. “Da je Pivovarna Laško prevzela Delo, je za časopisno hišo zelo dobro. S tem bo namreč dobila lastnika, kakršnega si je vedno želela,” pa je svoj komentar strnil odgovorni urednik in direktor Financ Peter Frankl.
Odločitev paradržavnih skladov, da prodata delež v Delu, je po Lesjakovem mnenju v redu, “a biti mora generalna in veljati v vseh primerih za vse”, pravi.
“Kaj pomeni prevzem Dela, je težko reč, ker ostaja vprašanje, kaj bo Pivovarna Laško s tem paketom delnic naredila. Če so zadnji kupec delnic, ali ne,” je dejal Lesjak, ki ne bi bil presenečen, če bi imel zadnji kupec Dela “politično poreklo”.
“Pivovarna je bila že zdaj pomemben lastnik. Že doslej je imela možnost, da je prek lastniškega deleža v Delu uveljavljala določen vpliv v podjetju, in kolikor mi je znano, jo je tudi uporabila,” je dejal Lesjak in ob tem poudaril, da gre za povsem legitimno pravico lastnika.
Source: http://24ur.com/bin/article.php?article_id=3096547
It is the greatest nonsense of all nonsense to claim that he wanted to obtain a control over the two medias by giving the control shares away. I mean…
He tried to get his candidate elected in presidential elections but the people went for left-wing Danilo Türk. Ass-whooping cuatro.
It is really remarkable what perceptions of democracy have some people on this blog. For them everything what is not done by their wishes or with their expectactions is ass-whopping. I didn’t see Janša lookinh too disappointed or depressed when Peterle lost and Tuerk won. In my opinion he simply wanted a president with who he will be able to work and co-operate with. Something what with pipe smoking Drnovsek was obviously not possible. Not entirely by Janša’s fault.
But that’s our Slovene reality. For some people, like Kučan, if you don’t attack Janša with your entire artillery you become a traitor or as Pengovsky would say a cocksucker. It is like the Communist party in 1941. The resistance against the enemy is allowed BUT only when we are in charge. Those who fight outside are all treators. Or cocksuckers. It is remarkable that the same mentality has survived all these years. Suprising? Not really, if you know the main protagonists of such mentality.
Same happened to Borut Pahor when co-worked with Janša on some projects. He immediately became a traitor. Expendable. Cocksucker. Looser. You name it.
He made a big show of “a new start” in relations between Slovenia and Croatia, but Croatia presented him with an extended maritime area of control. Ass-whooping numero cinco.
What new start??? In your head? I didn’t see any new start except that for the first time in our history police intervened and prevented further Croatian advance into our territory. Croatia did presented herself with a shot in her leg and now they will have to solve the mess.
He boasted of high GDP growth (even sans reforms) but got us higher inflation which ain’t going away even when the growth cools dows. Ass-whooping numero seis.
Another nonsense. The current inflation is not a result of the actions of the policy of the current government but the high rising of the prices of fuel (which I am sure you can agree the Slovenian government has no influence on) and second the high increase of the prices of food and drinks.
Unlike before 2004 when prices were artifically reduced down thanks to under-table agreements between the Government of Slovenia and Mercator (see the link). I only wonder what price had the Ministry of Finances had to pay for this generous courtesy of Mercator, which I am sure was not for free.
http://www.24ur.com/bin/article.php?article_id=3115087&show_media=60089597
He vehemently started presiding over the EU but didn’t even last a week without screwing up and having Potrugese PM slam him over a careless remark. Ass-whooping numero sete.
Mein Gott! I am sure that Portugal will declare war on us over the next couple of days because of this like France did in 2003 when Chirac said to the Eastern Europeans to keep their mouth shut up.
And now he proposed legislation on regions, but crashed and burned magnificently in the parliament. Ass-whooping supreme (number eight, if you’re still keeping count)
Burned? His MPs and most of the coalition MPs voted for the legislation. The opposition, who worked on the legislation as well, did not. So who did whoop who???
Krottendorf bei Neuhaus am Klausenbach
I lold. That sounds like it could be the name of that village in Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm 🙂
My personal favourite would have to be the Croatian Sveti Petar u šumi, though.
Speaking of odd town names, I’m still very curious where this one’s name came from:
http://pirancafe.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/leaving-drama-behind/
@Karel: I knew I could count on you to put my answer to Matteo in Technicolor 🙂 Thanks.
But with the sole exemption of “media issue” you basically confirmed what I wrote:
Reforms: You agree there were none, but say unions are to blame. I say JJ is to blame because he failed to “sell” them to the unions. They were his idea and his responcibility
Ljubljana: Very smart, saying he didn’t care who won after his candidate lost
Media: So we disagree on this. Tough luck. I however believe my point has been proven time and again.
Danilo Türk: And yet he called for a vote of confidence a week after the elections, citing precisely election results as the reason. And you say he didn’t feel like he lost?
Croatia: I rememer Janša and Sanader signign some sort of agreement and Janša saying that this is it. Apparently it is not.
Inflation: Hey – he’s the PM! Who if not the government has the responcibility to do something when prices start rising rapidly?
Portugal: So it was OK for JJ to say how the Portugese should vote on the referendum?
Regions: He needed a 2/3 majority, but failes even to secure entire votes of his coalition. I’d call that a political defeat.
Let me say it once again – I disagree with Janša’s policies. Most of them, anyway. But what I call his failures are issues he himself put great emphasis on. Had he been quiet – or at least less stubborn – about most of these things the situation would not be half as bad.
Reforms: You agree there were none, but say unions are to blame. I say JJ is to blame because he failed to “sell” them to the unions. They were his idea and his responcibility.
There were reforms just not as radical as some suggested and or better to say hoped them to be. The fact that the rate of unemployment is falling rapidly down and that we have the biggest economical growth since 1991 confirms this. This would not be possible without NO reforms. Unless of course if you won’t start here with your another cock-and-bull sotry about how all this was a result of “brilliant” and “indepedent” Gaspari.
To propose and get the radical reforms through the parliament he will need a strong coalition and strong majority in the parliament and you know very well he did not have any of it. LDS had it in 2000-2004 and they did jack shit.
Ljubljana: Very smart, saying he didn’t care who won after his candidate lost.
He did care? I didn’t seem jim jumping much around Arhar’s Camp nor taking much part in his campaign. As he said: Ljubljana got the mayor she deserve(d)s. This is one point with which I can honestly say that I agree with JJ 100%.
Media: So we disagree on this. Tough luck. I however believe my point has been proven time and again.
Yes, overtaking MAG I reckon is also a part of his master plan how to subject the medias in Slovenia. Knock, knock….
Danilo Türk: And yet he called for a vote of confidence a week after the elections, citing precisely election results as the reason. And you say he didn’t feel like he lost?
Probably not particularly since Tuerk also ranked high among some of the SDS members as a potential presidential nominee. So for him personally it was almost a no-loose situation. But by calling a vote of confidence he made a magnificient manouevre to shut up the opposition which if you look at the tapes from Tuerk’s camp (statements by Zoran Jankovic, Niko Tos etc.) was openly calling for resignation of Jansa’s government on grounds that he lost the confidence of the voters. So he gave you this chance and the opposition panicked. It was pathetically if not partially ironical to watch various interviews of TV (Kučan, Golobič, lahovnik etc.) about how it would be improper to resign.
Croatia: I rememer Janša and Sanader signign some sort of agreement and Janša saying that this is it. Apparently it is not.
They signed what?? All what they agreed was that “With regard to border arbitration, the countries agree in principle that we take as a basis the situation on 25 June 1991 – as agreed in the Brioni Declaration,” said Mr Janša.
Source: http://www.kpv.gov.si/en/splosno/novice/news/article/225/2024/?cHash=7a1c1eec23
Inflation: Hey – he’s the PM! Who if not the government has the responcibility to do something when prices start rising rapidly?
Really? Have you asked yourselve WHY the prices (of mostly Slovene food products!) started to rise in Slovenia so rapidly, while only half as much elsewhere throughout Europe? Do you think the government should intervene in the economy and set the prices like it did in the communist times? What is the current government not doing but it should be doing? Please tell me and the rest of us FIVE STEPS (five, that’s all what I ask) that the current government should do to reduce the inflation?
Please write them down, so that we can see your magic formula for solution of this problem.
C’mon, courage mon brave…
Portugal: So it was OK for JJ to say how the Portugese should vote on the referendum?
He didn’t say they MUST or else they would finish on Cape Verde Islands like under Salazar’s reign… but he said they should… for the common benefits of all Europe… What is wrong with this I don’t know. EU (including Portugal) also said we should accept the Spanish Compromise in mid-1990s.
MUST : obligation is imposed by the speaker. The speaker has authority over the one that is spoken to and he/she exercises his/her power.
SHOULD is used to give advice. No obligation here, rather a recommendation from the speaker
Regions: He needed a 2/3 majority, but failes even to secure entire votes of his coalition. I’d call that a political defeat.
I would call that political irresponsibility. If his own coalition failed to supply the votes about one such important legislation that one would expect the opposition to provide the support and the necessary votes. They did not. They panicked. As always.
Let me say it once again – I disagree with Janša’s policies.
With whose policies do you agree then on? Kučan? Golobič? Pahor?
Please just don’t tell me you are a fan of Katarina Kresal! :-))
Reforms LDS had it in 2000-2004 and they did jack shit.
I wholeheartedly agree! 😀 I also agree that Janša didn’t have the majority or a strong coalition. But he went ahead with it. And failed.
Ljubljana: I didn’t seem jim jumping much around Arhar’s Camp nor taking much part in his campaign.
Well, then we weren’t following the same election campaign 🙂
Media: Overtaking MAG I reckon is also a part of his master plan how to subject the medias in Slovenia.. We’ve been over this.
Danilo Türk: Probably not particularly since Tuerk also ranked high among some of the SDS members as a potential presidential nominee.
And you explain this how exactly?
Croatia: So you’re saying that it was not hailed as a turning point in SLO-CRO relations? What about this then?
Inflation: You’re not listening… He’s the PM. He should deal with it. That’s why he’s there.
Portugal: You’re not the one to appreciate the subtelty of diplomatic lingo, are you? 😉 Janša should have kept his mouth shut on that issue. The only acceptable phrase is something along the lines of “I have full confidence in the wisdom of the Portugese people and their ability to decide their own future”. And even that may be too much.
Regions: I would call that political irresponsibility. If his own coalition failed to supply the votes about one such important legislation that one would expect the opposition to provide the support and the necessary votes. They did not. They panicked. As always.
So it is OK for his own coalition not to support him, but not for the opposition? Oh boy… goes away shaking his head in disbelief
Please just don’t tell me you are a fan of Katarina Kresal! :-))
Hey, I’m a fan of all of them! Kučan, Janša, Golobič, Pahor, Šrot, Janković, Rupel, Kresal, Gaspari, Jerovšek, Bajuk, Tanko, Virant… All of them…. They make my job worth doing.
As far as policies I agree with are concerned – we’ll get there, don’t worry. Some time between now and elections I’ll post something on this issue, just to keep you in suspense and have you drive up my traffic 😉
Oh, I almost forgot – Katarina Kresal is a babe. I would definitely do her. I mean… Just look at her 😳
I wholeheartedly agree! 😀 I also agree that Janša didn’t have the majority or a strong coalition. But he went ahead with it. And failed.
Of course major points of his reform plan failed. Everyone knew this the moment the new coalition was formed with small majority in the parliament and unstable SLS and DESUS, who were strongly against all major reforms. So how in your world would you transform the reforms into reality if you have coalition partners, opposition, medias, syndicates etc. who are all against reforms? Coalition governments are about compromises. If you are a married man or a man in a relationship with a woman then you should know what I mean, hehe… 😀
LDS, DESUS and SD had the chance to change things and they didn’t do anything. They did not even change the most simple and obscure things. Instead they bombarded us with new automobile stickers from Mirage, the same company which went bust two years ago. Now more sucking the taxpayer’s money, eh?
Generally, the current business world is satisfied with so far reforms of the government. Of course, they would wish they would go faster, but they realize that with a small majority in the parliament and unstable partners such as SLS and DESUS one cannot move mountains.
We all know that one thing is to promise something in the pre-election time when you speak in the name of yourselve and your party and the real reality is what the voters decide on the elections. So when judging Jansa’s or other government’s results one should not look the promises he made in the pre-election campaign, but the ones that are written black and white in the coalition treaty!
It is kind of ironic that Slovenes voted for changes (did you vote for changes? :D) and still gave the LDS – despite not doing anything since 1994 – still a soldi support of 20% and almost 20 seats in the parliament.
In normal countries they would drop out considering the things they have been doing. But with the medias under their control they have been able to minimize the damage (aka damage control).
Well, then we weren’t following the same election campaign 🙂
Arhar’s campaign was short and sporadic. I didn’t see Janša on most of his rallies.
We’ve been over this.
Have we?
And you explain this how exactly?
According to the opinion polls a significant part of SDS and NSi voters eitherr did not attend the elections or voted for Tuerk. In addition, his older brother is one of Janša’s closest co-workers dating from 1990s. He’s the same Tuerk who was slained by the medias during Bajuk government for financial molversations in Electro Ljubljana. Surely you remember that yet another shameful story of Slovenian journalism.
Croatia: So you’re saying that it was not hailed as a turning point in SLO-CRO relations? What about this then?
This Pengy is the subtelty of diplomatic lingo.
In order to stab someone in his back you need to get behind his back first. 😀
This is diplomacy and this is why Italians won Trieste in 1952 and we got Ilirska Bistrica.
Inflation: You’re not listening… He’s the PM. He should deal with it. That’s why he’s there.
Knock? Knock? Do I hear an echo here or what??? I asked you plain and simple: WHAT is the current government NOT doing in order to prevent the inflation? All their measures have been the right one, but they cannot influence on the prices of the food. If they rise the salaries the inflation will jump sky high! They did that in Yugoslavia in 1980s and you saw what happened. Right now they are having the same problems in Zimbabwe.
So instead cheap populistic rambling tell us five steps which the government should take to minimize the inflation. You seem to know that she is not doing everything, so I assume you also know what they should do!
Please. Write the steps down.
Portugal: You’re not the one to appreciate the subtelty of diplomatic lingo, are you? 😉 Janša should have kept his mouth shut on that issue. The only acceptable phrase is something along the lines of…
And you know this because you are…. have been…. worked in diplomacy… for …. years???
“I have full confidence in the wisdom of the Portugese people and their ability to decide their own future”.
I see. I could live with that except that they are not deciding just about their own future but also about our future and the future of other EU members. Nobody wanted another France and Holland where people voted against not because they were against the treaty, but because they were against the policy of their own governments, which stalled as you can see the whole process for another two years…
So it is OK for his own coalition not to support him, but not for the opposition? Oh boy… goes away shaking his head in disbelief
I didn’t say they are not allowed not to support the legislation. It is their right. However just because some MPs in the coalition are asshole they don’t need to be as well. Especially not after they have actively worked the last couple of years on it as well with the Ministry for Regional Development. It shows that they have no political responsibility and Janša proved what he wanted to the Slovene public. This is pronanly also why he pressed with the law despite knowing it will fail in the parliament.
Hey, I’m a fan of all of them! Kučan, Janša, Golobič, Pahor, Šrot, Janković, Rupel, Kresal, Gaspari, Jerovšek, Bajuk, Tanko, Virant… All of them…. They make my job worth doing.
I knew you are a political prostitute. Afterall you are a journalist. So tell me something I don’t know.
How much do you charge for an hour? 🙂
….post something on this issue, just to keep you in suspense and have you drive up my traffic
In supense, eh? I wish you the best luck with this. Many have tried, few have succeeded. hehe…
Danilo Türk: Probably not particularly since Tuerk also ranked high among some of the SDS members as a potential presidential nominee….And you explain this how exactly?
Forgot to comment this: How do I explain this? Simple. janša explained everything in his first and main sentence:
Ob obisku vlade v Spodnjem Podravju je premier Janez Janša komentiral izid nedeljskih predsedniških volitev. Dejal je, da so izidi volitev slabi, razmere, ki so privedle do njih, pa zaskrbljujoče.
He didn’t mention Danilo Tuerk once. He continued
“Prve analize kažejo, da se je predvolilna kampanja v veliki meri usmerila v obračun z vlado, zelo malo je bilo razprav o slovenski prihodnosti,” meni Janša. Še posebej zaskrbljujoče pa se premierju zdi, da je bilo v času volilne kampanje veliko sil usmerjenih v to, da so slovensko vlado v času pred predsedovanjem EU očrnili v tujini. “V države EU in tudi v svet so šla iz Slovenije sporočila, ki situacijo slikajo, kot da bi šlo za Belorusijo ali primerljivo državo,” je še dejal Janša.
Again nothing about Danilo Tuerk. Where did you see his name to come up?
Oh, I almost forgot – Katarina Kresal is a babe. I would definitely do her. I mean…
Nothing special… She looks like she has just come out of a rehab clinic. 😀
How much do you charge for an hour?
You could never afford me… I go for brains, and you, Čarli, ain’t got none.
It took you lot four years to realize what everyone else in this country knew from the start. That you cannot move mountains in a coalition government. I mean – what did you guys expect? That everyone will just get out of your way, because it’s your turn?
You and the likes of you are the true pupils of stalinism!
You would dispense with the opposition and have everyone toe the line you set, without allowing a single voice of dissent. Everyone who does not agree with what you deem important is an asshole even though it is your head in your own arses. If you were only to take it out and have a look around you to realize that the seventies are long gone and that you don’t own a country if you are elected to run it.
Your political option is no better than LDS in this respect – only that your political leaders learned much quicker how to stuff their own pockets.
You are incapable of assuming responsibility for your political actions and everytime someone (say, the media) asks that you explain yourselves or your actions, you go on a which-hunt because who are they to question your judgement!.
But since you asked, what the government should do to curb inflation – off the top of my head, two things come to mind: cut public spending, and not giving in to unions’ demands (it was a pre-election demand and JJ gave in for fear of losing).
However, since cutting spending is tantamount to political suicide in an election year, Janša is in a pretty bad fix. But hey – he said that inflation will be reduced by March, so why worry? 😉 If we pretend the problem doesn’t exist, maybe it’ll just go away. Isn’t that so?
You guys rule by ignoring problems until they become elephant in the room and then you attack everyone who dares point them out. And yet you think yourselves incredibly cunning. You think Janša will somehow outwit Croatia and stab Sanader in the back. No wonder our foreign policy is in shambles. Mischevious Janša and incompetent Rupel – and people still wodner why we are being pushed around by everyone and his brother (including Croatia).
As for keeping you in suspense – your vigorous commenting on this blog only proves my point. Yet again.
You could never afford me… I go for brains, and you, Čarli, ain’t got none.
Who said I was buying you? I don’t bay damaged goods. 😀
It took you lot four years to realize what everyone else in this country knew from the start. That you cannot move mountains in a coalition government. I mean – what did you guys expect? That everyone will just get out of your way, because it’s your turn?
So why the hell are you then so damn disappointed and whining at least once a week about how Janša failed to keep all of his pre-election given promises and sanding yourselve with ashes now? To make changes in this country one will need a radical change of the system. The problem of the system is that it is full of “old boys”, the privileged caste who takes account only of their pockets. In this regard you are not a solution but part of a fuckin’ problem.
You and the likes of you are the true pupils of stalinism!
It is funny when such a statement comes from the mouth of a person who agrees that without NOB we wouldn’t have independent Slovenia. Yes, I read your comments on Dimitrij Rupel’s weblog. What to say… You are teaching me democracy and her values and in the same time you are claiming the fact that without the communist stalinistic revolution we wouldn’t have an independent country today. Too bad you didn’t write “free country”.
You would dispense with the opposition and have everyone toe the line you set, without allowing a single voice of dissent.
I know you have not been taught this at home, school or even in your close society of avantgarde “nice people” but people’s democracy is not equal to democracy. Democracy is not a battle between good (all those who are against janša) and evil (Janša). Maybe these cheap political and populistic tricks worked in the old times, but since then times have changed, except for some old ranks of the Slovene communist party who found a new toy to play with: teaching us democracy and human rights.
Democracy is about a co-operation, but this is simply a word which does not exist in your world of phantasy which needs an enemy to politically survive. This is why Pahor almost always finds himself ridiculed and attacked by “leftist” politicians and medias, when he tries to set up a line of co-operation with Janša.
It saddens me deeply to see that 90% of the journalists are not capable to understand this. But then again this does not suprise me for you are paid extremly well for your (un)professionalism to keep the current status quo.
Afterall how did Grega Repovz or you for example got your current employment?
Everyone who does not agree with what you deem important is an asshole even though it is your head in your own arses. If you were only to take it out and have a look around you to realize that the seventies are long gone and that you don’t own a country if you are elected to run it.
Yes, Pengy they are elected to run the country. The owning department is already filled with members of Kučan’s Forum 21, most of whom got rich during the time of early transition. You know that was the period when the press was silent and obedient. Why don’t we talk about them since they hold most of Slovene’s economy?
Your political option is no better than LDS in this respect – only that your political leaders learned much quicker how to stuff their own pockets.
Now they are MY political leaders??? I thought they are OUR political leaders, all democratically elected and chosen by majority of Slovene voters on the last election in 2004. First Luka’s question about whether I am a member of SDS and now this… Amazing what kind of narrow-minded people we have working in the press and university sphere.
As for stuffing their pockets, let me know when Janša or any of his ministers will offer 27 million € for decapitalization of NKBM or drive themselve through Ljubljana in their brand new red colored Ferrari.
But since you asked, what the government should do to curb inflation – off the top of my head, two things come to mind: cut public spending, and not giving in to unions’ demands (it was a pre-election demand and JJ gave in for fear of losing).
As I thought. You have no fuckin’s idea about the economy. A man (woman) expects five suggestions and instead you presented us with two cliches.
A.) You know perfectly well that the present government is slowly lowering the public spending. Check the Statistical Office of Republic of Slovenia or better of ask someone with some basic knowledge of economy and mathematics to explain you what those numbers mean and how to interprete them. In addition, we have also eyewitnessed cancellation of some major and expensive defense projects. So in your opinion this is not a cut of public spending but…???
B.) Another stupidity on your behalf. The government did not give up the unions. The unions’ salary will rise for 3.4% but the already agreed 10% rise will be steadily divived over the next couple of years, so that it will prevent to have an impact on inflation. Virant offered some other, in my opinion, good suggestions but the unions choose the safest one.
As far as labour unionts the government has no word in that department. That is to be settled between employers sand workers.
So I am waiting for three new suggestions??? You have been very zealous in criticizing the current government about the inflation and how it is not doing anything so I am sure everyone here got under impression that you actually know something about the economy and inflation.
Please continue.
However, since cutting spending is tantamount to political suicide in an election year, Janša is in a pretty bad fix. But hey – he said that inflation will be reduced by March, so why worry?
Who is worrying??? I don’t think you are worried either because I am not sure you know what inflation really means. Otherwise you would not talk, talk, talk, talk and do more talking how we have big inflation (like before 2004 we didn’t have any at all!) and the government is not doing anything, but when a simple guy asks you to name some of these measures which you will introduce to down the inflation you give us some suggestions which have already been implemented.
You guys rule by ignoring problems until they become elephant in the room and then you attack everyone who dares point them out.
I don’t think that pointing out we have inflation is something what we have discovered last year. We have more bigger inflation than now (we already talked about this) and the man who was responsible for it was labelled by you as economical expert and apolitical person. That’s the same man who changed political colours like a cheap two dollar whore.
BTW: Who are “you”?
And yet you think yourselves incredibly cunning. You think Janša will somehow outwit Croatia and stab Sanader in the back. No wonder our foreign policy is in shambles. Mischevious Janša and incompetent Rupel – and people still wodner why we are being pushed around by everyone and his brother (including Croatia).
Whether Slovene diplomacy will outwit Croatia and Sanader is something what only time will show and not some quasi, self-opionion and spoiled journalistis from Ljubljana who tend to think they are experts and saviours of democracy and the righteous. But with diplomats like Vajgl and Setinc who use, with the generous assistance of some journalists, our foreign policy for domestic squabbles it is going to be very hard. But then again these same people already have prepared the reserve scenario when (if) something will go wrong. It is identical to that one of mayor Jankovic. They will blame Jansa. That always does the trick.
BTW: Yet again you??? Who are “you”? Why do I have a feeling you are referring here in plural?
As for keeping you in suspense – your vigorous commenting on this blog only proves my point. Yet again.
Yeah… If we could figure out what exactly is your point it would be very helpful. So far we haven’t found it. Still searching for it….
@Karel: You see, this is where we part ways. Whereas I believe in gradual improvement of an existing situation you advocate radical change of anything that is not made according to your own image. In this and many other respects you people are true heirs of stalinism. You just kid yourselves into thinking that you uphold democratic values. You do – as long as there is noone to disagree.
And if you still can’t make out my point, then I can’t really help you. But maybe you could ask your political leader what you should think. I’m sure he has all the answers you need.
To make changes in this country one will need a radical change of the system.
¡Esta e Revolución para siempre! Down with the oppresive capitalist system!
@Cornelius: (ROTFLMAO!)…And this time around, let’s do it right!
“First Luka’s question about whether I am a member of SDS and now this… Amazing what kind of narrow-minded people we have working in the press and university sphere.”
Dear Karel, first of all I never asked you that question, go check that again before you accuse. I would never ask you that, since I haven’t got the slightest interest about your possible membership. Becaus anyway I know what you are – a believer, so I admire Pengovsky who is still trying to talk to you on the grounds of reason. It doesn’t work. Anyhow, your accusation about narrow mindedness of Pengovsky and myself made me smile. After all the brainwashed stupidity I have read so far I am not even going to try with an argument. And thank god, media and University still have got some power left to fight narrow mindedness and brainwashed ideology.
Karel: You see, this is where we part ways. Whereas I believe in gradual improvement of an existing situation you advocate radical change of anything that is not made according to your own image.
I didn’t see the radical change of ANYTHING. I said the radical change of the system. Franklly I didn’t even mention what kind of system I have on my mind.
Your buddie Cornelius, who as usually was thinking like it is expected from him to think, that is if he capable of thinking rationally, thought I am thinking of a revolution and therefore a radical change of the political or social system. The only people who think like that in Slovenia are those who walk around with the image of Che Guevara on their T-shirt, with Arabic scarfs wrapped around their necks, Tito’s image on their desk and sign petitions for poor and innocent Gambian immigrants or Strojan family. The trick is that they don’t do that for them but for themselves, because doing this it gives them a feeling they are different or how do you say in Ljubljana more “ful kul” than the rest of us.
The cruel reality is that I did not even specifically say what kind of radical change of a system I meant. I definately did not have a radical political change, something what I am sure you would be more than willing to participate or sign and then hidding deep in the forest like your political predecessors and mentors.
I was actually talking about the system of behaviour. Do you know what is this?
You talked here about Metka Lanjscek, Vladimir Vodusek, Silvester Surla etc,, but you never talk about the Setinc family, the Soltes family, Jadranka Kolosa Rop, the Mekina family, the Ribicic family and other families who took a good care of their babyboys and babygirls, nephews and now even their grandchildren.
And of course you never talked about your own family. I know you must have felt really disappointed after Tina was replaced in 2005, but sooner or later people in this country like Dimitrij Rupel will have to realize that nothing is for eternal (your words!). Not even a well paid job the parliament which certainly probably did not get without any benefits for your father’s projects.
So next time when you are painting us a picture about stuffing pockets with money, don’t forget to paint all the details on the picture. Particularly those that concerns the pockets of your family for who are you to talk about a clear consciounce about others but not cleaning the mess under your own carpet?
That’s the system I was talking about. The system of hypocrisy and nepotism. Both of the terms not unknown in your “casa”.
In this and many other respects you people are true heirs of stalinism. You just kid yourselves into thinking that you uphold democratic values. You do – as long as there is noone to disagree.
As I said I find it grotesque that former party members who were so fuckin’ obedient in 1970s and 1980s are today lecturing us about democracy and their values. It is like I would go to Yad Yashem and get presented their with a guide named Alois Brunner. Afterall who wouldn’t know more about the prosecution of the Jews than the prosecutor himself.
And if you still can’t make out my point, then I can’t really help you. But maybe you could ask your political leader what you should think. I’m sure he has all the answers you need.
I don’t need to consult anyone, but it seems to me that you have morale dilemmas with this problem. What is wrong, Pengy? Did the state cut its money supply and life suddenly is not as a luxurious as it was before?!?
Luka
You are right. It was not you nd for this I sincerly apologise you. Mistakes from time to time happen even to the best of us. 🙂
As far as the rest of your post is concerned you are still boring but in a positive and not a condescending or insulting manner, of course. 🙂
As for the arguments are concerned you can rest assure that I didn’t expect any of them from you side. Your and yours alike arguments usually tend to narrow themselves to simple and obscene words like “cocksucker”, “are you a member of SDS party”, “you are a believer”, “you are janschist” etc. Terms which usually don’t require too much intellectual thinking, you know…
They are usual tricks to ridicule people who are not in your fantasy world and or not nodding to your ideas about a better world without capitalism. In 1941-45 these morale hypocrites shot people, from 1945 to 1990 they locked people in a prison and today they are ridiculing them. So nothing new in this department.
I should thank you to demonstrate all of us a perfect school example of narrow-mindedness with your “believer” comment. You did exactly what I expected you to do.
p.s. I didn’t know that you actually discuss on the faculty. Rastko Mocnik or Matjaz Kmecl allow you to do this today? In my time Kmecl, who likes to paint himself as a fuckin’ great humanitarian, scholar and democrat (when he is sober, that is) was known to ridicule and throwing students who were wearing a necklace or any other Christian symboles. So much about the tolerance of “your” lot.
@Karel (or should I say, Klementina): Here you are, dragging my family into this. To what end? I’m proud of my family, the work they do and things they’ve achieved. If you knew the slightest thing about who my family is, what they did and what they do, you’d be standing before me in person begging for forgivness, because you are so utterly wrong that everyhthig else you wrote on my blog pales in comparison.
You are a sad, terrible and bitter person who has apparently little to show for her except being a party faithful. Be that as it may, I’ve little to say to you any longer, save perhaps that maybe you should bury your dead as well and move on.
It was such a beautiful day today – too bad you spent it commenting here.
Karel: IRL ad hominem, eh? And not even keeping it to just the blog owner, but expanding that to other posters here? Admirable. Admirable.
Ok, let’s just make one thing clear. You were talking of “a radical change of the system”. See, in English, to bring about a “change of the system” means to change the system itself (radically, in your case). Not to change the contents or position holders of a system, but the system itself. Seeing as how we have a market economy right now, a radical change of that system could only be interpreted as a change to some form of socialism/communism. See, I wasn’t kneejerking here, as you seem to imply, I was making fun of your poor English grammar in a sarcastic manner. I know jokes are not supposed to be spelled out, but I just figured I’d make this one clear. I’m only pointing this out because I think that what you just did, dabbing at peoples’ families and occupations, is in extremely poor taste.
(oh, and the opening sentence of this response, that was sarcasm, too. I don’t really admire you. As of just a few minutes ago, it’s quite the opposite, really. Just to make that clear as well.)
@Karel: I was so hoping to meet you in person today and have a relaxing drink in this gorgeous weather on the Slovenian Culture Day, but I never heard from you and since you opted to resort to argumentum ad personam when you ran out of arguments, please consider my invitation withdrawn.
Although I must admit there are moments I feel like stooping down to this level and joining in on the mudslinging fun, I am aware of the implications of a debate where one of the parties uses nonsense-arguments, which ae fundamentally irrefutible. Please see here if you don’t quite catch my drift. I’m just too old for this. Been there, done that.
I do agree with you regarding one point, however, i.e. that Pengovsky’s family has done incredibly well in the old regimes, which is reflected by their enviable wealth that can rival if not by far exceed that of any ol’ arms dealer (or collector of ‘safe territory passage’ taxes).
Have a nice evening and… get a life.
PS: As I know that if not completely lacking a sense of humour, then some posters here at the very least have a very different perception of humour than myself and the people I tend to associate with. So I feel the urge to write a disclaimer:
My second last paragraph in reference to the protectionism enjoyed by P’s family was written in sarcasm.
Furthermore, I would like to reference my use of the term sarcasm above to the definition of sarcarm per wikipedia, lest there be any doubt which dictionary or part of a definition therein I had in mind in this particular instance. I quote:
“Sarcasm is stating the opposite of an intended meaning especially in order to sneeringly, slyly, jest or mock a person, situation or thing. …. An example of sarcasm is using “that’s fantastic” to mean “that’s awful”.”
I won’t say much, but after reading all this before it started getting out of hand…I kind of took Karel’s “radical change” as how I believe he meant it. That is a change on the part of politicians & their old “buddy, buddy” way of doing things. I think his following sentence tied into that. I really didn’t take that comment to mean a change to communism/socialism, etc. But I can see how others took that to mean something else.
@Cornelius: Just curious but was your last comment supposed to show you in a better light then Karel? Basically you said you were making fun of Karel because he (perhaps) doesn’t have as good a grasp on the English language as you do? Really..how is making fun of someone for a (perceived) deficiency any better then what you accuse Karel of doing. From what I read it was before any of the aforementioned mud-slinging (but perhaps I missed some taunt from him directed at you?). Kind of hypocritical from my pov.
At any rate, imo the real situation is probably somewhere between Pengy & Karel’s pov’s, but I digress.
Well, a little while after Karel first started posting on the internets, I realised two things: that this was not going to be the exciting exchange of opinions from two viewpoints of the same politics I’d been hoping for; and that it really is true what they say about arguing on the internet. So I confined myself to just short interjections on a (what I hope to be) similar level to Karel’s rantings. But that was until that last comment. I draw a line between leaving comments of the type: According to what you write, you are stupid. and ones of the type: I’ve gone roving through the internet, found personal info on you, and (insert name of family member or loved one) is stupid.
Call me oldfashioned or whatnot, but that second type of comment is unacceptable in my book. So I just made clear to Karel what a tool I think he is by explaining one of my previos (“What you write is stupid” type) jabs at him. Since, in his delusional mind, he is probably just end up taking it as proof of hostility and ineptitude of the Stalin-worshiping Che T-shirted pinkos that infest this blog’s comment section, let’s call that comment one last morsel thrown at a troll I no longer intend to feed.
@Michael N: Obviously the drive to change the system (or the contents thereof) is legitimate as long as it adheres to democratic standards (however high or low they may be in this country).
But the “buddy-buddy” way of doing things has little to do with a country’s democratic track record. As I have written some time ago – it is the nature of politics to become arrogant, non-transparent and a purpose unto itself. And at some point it gets replaced with another option.
This goes for Slovenian as well as (say) US or British politics (not to mention Russian, Croatian, German, etc…)
So the buddy-buddy way of doing things is inherent to politics regardless of the system. It just becomes much more transparent in a society like Slovenian, where six degrees of separation become more like “one-and-a-half”.
So much for theoretical backround. As for its practical applications to current/previous Slovene governments, you’ve seen yourself that the topic is highly combustible. And it will get even more explosive come autumn when elections are due.
Having said that, I agree that there is a huge difference between a heated political argument and hitting below the belt, using insinuations and half-truths, which are often even more dangerous than lies. In this respect I tip my hat to Cornelius and the good doctor.
Pengovsky: @Karel (or should I say, Klementina): Here you are, dragging my family into this. To what end? I’m proud of my family, the work they do and things they’ve achieved. If you knew the slightest thing about who my family is, what they did and what they do, you’d be standing before me in person begging for forgivness, because you are so utterly wrong that everyhthig else you wrote on my blog pales in comparison.
Ay, ay, ay… Have we touched the wasp’s nest, eh? Why shouldn’t we talk about your family or about you? You talk about Vodusek, Surla, Lajnscek and other so-called cocksuckers all the times, sometimes even about their families, so why should’t we also talk about you for other readers judge and see from what kind of environment and background do you come from? How many much city or state financial support did you get (cocksuck) for your “company” before 2004, when you were party faithful to the LDS, SD and DESUs and how much do you get now? What gives you the right to speak about Vodusek’s wife, Surla or Metka Lajnscek that not gives us the right to speak abotu your family and you?? Being a journalist you are equally a public figure as them, so why shouldn’t the people and the readers of this blog know who and what is hidding behind Pengovsky? Do you really think that you are that much different from them to judge the others from high morale pedestal? Because of your stupid arguments that you are simply “more nice”?!?
Or will you perhaps this time remain speechless as you did when I asked you to write down five measures which in your opinion the government should do but is not doing in order to contain the inflation?
Still waiting, Pengy.
You seemed very convinced with your statement that the government is not doing anything to battle the inflation, so some of us were equally convinced that you for a change actually know what are you talking about and know which measures the government is not doing and therefore should be done. So please share them with us.
You are a sad, terrible and bitter person who has apparently little to show for her except being a party faithful.
Yes, we are sad, terrible, bitter, party faitful, idiotic, stupid, conservative, “nazadnjaski”, against the progress, not cool, not nice, capitalistic, bourgeois, clero-fascists… We (all those who did not agree with THE party line) have been listening of such etikettes for as long as I remember and your vocabularly and level of intellect didn’t seem to have changed that much since 1970s, 1980s or 1990s. But don’t worry I don’t blame you. This is what you have been taught (or would you like me to say “train) and this is how you have been raised. That’s OK. You are not the first and not the last.
But let me tell you why I (presently) support Jansa and Bajuk, something which seems to buzz you all this time.
I don’t support them because of their names. I don’t support them because of their parties or because they talk what I wanted to listen. I don’t support them because they have better cadres in their parties or because they have “better media appeal”.
I support them – besides the fact that right now they can show concrete results (and not riding on a wide media support like Drnovsek and Rop did, where inflation and high rate of unemployment were unlike today considered and pictured to the public by some medias as merely a small nuisance) – because they rised from the bottom. Jansa was born in a small familysouth of LJ. His father barely managed to escape the post-war massacres, so one can rigfhtfully presume he did not receive the NOB and other state privileged pensions nor any other benefits. He lived after the war a simple life. Simple in those years meant he was struggling and that means that he was struggling hard to survive his family. He did not have any daddy, mommy or auntie in the party which would get him an easy job and supplied him with pocket money every month. Same happened to Bajuk. When his family, who were before the war in Slovenia one of the best educated Slovene family, came to Argentina they had to start (scratch) from the bottom. His own grandfather, who was a prominent professor of Latin, Greek and Slovene literature and father worked first as workers in a bricklayer factory. Still despite against all odds they earned and saved that much money that their son managed to finish the universities in Argentina and USA and without the help of any daddy or mommy to climb quite highly in the World Bank. They achieved all this with their own HARD WORK without any help from their moms, dads or rich aunts, uncles and or wifes. This is why I was not really suprised when filomena numbered the qualities which in her opinion a future prime minister material should have. None included hard work or if you like work habits. I don’t care if the candidate has media appeal or not, I don’t care if he is handsome or ugly, as long as he works hard and good, he or she will have my support.
You see this is the difference between me and you (plural). Jansa and Bajuk have something what people like Gaspari, Karamanlis, Kennedy, Bush Jr., Chirac and others who landed where they landed thanks to their family or party-family-wife connections will never have.
That “never” is RESPECT, my fellow Slovenes. I have enourmous respect for both Jansa and Bajuk to have climbed so highly despite against all odds in this country, where stupidity and nepotism are still very much favoured before intellect. Like it was before 1990, when the communists wanted the people to be poor and stupid because when they were poor and stupid they were more flexble and when you are flexible you are guidable and when you are guidable you give up of your personal freedom and when you do that you do whatever they tell you. This is why it is so important for the present opposition (former communists, let’s not be too shy to say this) that nothing essentially changes in the spheres of medias (where “cocksuckers” like Repovz, Traven, Babic and the rest of the lot are all extremly well paid to write what their political masters wanted them to write) and education (no money for private schools).
This is something what you probably will never properly understand because from what I could tell most of those who are most eager critics today have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth from Day One. In fact, I am willing to bet that this is one of the reasons if not the main reason why the establishment (or shall we call it the elite?) in Ljubljana never has and never will like Jansa. He simply never was ONE of THEM. ONE of YOU. A part of the elite which considers itself the elite and which enables the hardcore party officials (party faithful as Pengovsky would say) with proper family tree and zero, niente, nada years of practical experiences to become a judge at the Slovene Supreme Court.
Maybe some day they will loose my vote, but I will still respect their work and accomplishments just as I respect Karol Wojytla, Abraham Lincoln, Angela Merkel, Dwight Eisenhower and others who started from the bottom and worked hard to get where they got or still are today.
Party faithful, Pengovsky? Ha! Hardly. Or should I say not as faithful as some in someone’s families.
Filomena: @Karel: I was so hoping to meet you in person today and have a relaxing drink in this gorgeous weather on the Slovenian Culture Day, but I never heard from you and since you opted to resort to argumentum ad personam when you ran out of arguments, please consider my invitation withdrawn.
What the hell are you talking about???
Cornelius: “change of the system”
I see. So when my friend, an engineer, says we need to change the whole of the system he is not thinking about putting a new Reverso Oil Change System but he must be thinking about socialism and communism.
Hehe… Amazing.
I am truly amazed how gifted people we have here. They can actually not only read my mind but also understand and clearly see my thoughts before they are actually put on paper on web blog.
Well ladies and gentlemen, I think that with such abnormally gifted youth we can all go in retirement and sip our drinks on a sandy, couzy beach in Port-of-Spain without worrying about anything for the world is in safe hands. 🙂
I was making fun of your poor English grammar in a sarcastic manner.
They say it is better to have poor grammar than poor intellect. But on the other hand my grammar can’t be that bad if you seem to understand almost all what I wrote and even more. You can even say what I didn’t but meant to write. Ha! So much about my poor grammar. 🙂
But that was until that last comment. I draw a line between leaving comments of the type: According to what you write, you are stupid. and ones of the type: I’ve gone roving through the internet, found personal info on you, and (insert name of family member or loved one) is stupid.
Ha Ha Ha! Do you really think that I have THE time to stalk through internet and look for obscure information <about his family. I only checked for his surname and I knew right away about his mother and father. There are not that many B-Ps in Ljubljana or Slovenia for that matter. And his mother is cocerned she was not exactly a low and unimportant political figure in the Slovene parliament before 2004 (she was on Tv and newspaper) nor is his father a low member of the political establishment in Ljubljana. Did I say they worked bad? No, that’s not up to me to judge. But since Pengovsky seems to be on a crusade about who is cocksucker and who is not I thought we ought to clear some facts so that the readers will get some basic information about Pengovsky, who as a journalist is a public figure and as such is eligeble to get more attention.
Afterall it is in public interest that we know as much as possible about the people who are daily presenting us with the “unbiased” news about what is or what is not happening in our beloved country and not-so-beloved (hehe) capital.
Pengovsky: Having said that, I agree that there is a huge difference between a heated political argument and hitting below the belt, using insinuations and half-truths, which are often even more dangerous than lies. In this respect I tip my hat to Cornelius and the good doctor.
It is funny that such words come from the mouth of a person who only a few weeks ago ridiculed some of his colleagues by putting clown hats on their heads and calling them cocksuckers.
Pengy would like no half-truths, no insinuations and no lies but only when he, who is more sacred than the holy cow from the Ganges River, is in question. However, it is all OK for him to be the prosecutor and the judge for his colleagues and others who perhaps don’t always bark or piss at the same tree as long as he does.
He would like a respect but is unable to show it to some of his own colleagues.
Interesting. Suddenly things, when you yourselve are in the centre of the attention, are not that much fun anymore, eh Pengy?
I may be bringing coal to Newcastle here but I smell hypocrisy.
Did I say they worked bad? No, that’s not up to me to judge.
You insinuated as much, which was quite enough or even worse. Neither of them ever held an elected office, nor did they ever seek to use whatever positions they did hold to anyone’s personal advantage (much less their own).
Still waiting, Pengy.
And you will, my dearest Klementina, wait for an eternity. I have not talked about your family, which hardly puts us on even ground. You’ve abused my hospitality on this blog quite enough.
Pengovsky: You insinuated as much, which was quite enough or even worse. Neither of them ever held an elected office, nor did they ever seek to use whatever positions they did hold to anyone’s personal advantage (much less their own).
One doesn’t need to hold any of the elected offices to be a rotten apple in the system. Afterall those who decide to become crooks don’t require to obtain a special license before they decide to embark on their joyful journey of underground criminality.
And you will, my dearest Klementina, wait for an eternity. I have not talked about your family, which hardly puts us on even ground. You’ve abused my hospitality on this blog quite enough.
🙂 I knew I won’t get any reply from you, Pengy. This time it is different, eh?
Just like that, huh? You decide someone is guilty and that’s it? Like I said – a true stalinist. Višinski would be very proud of you… And still you wonder why I refure to be drawn into games your delusional mind concots…