Welp, that was fast. Last time around pengovsky indicated his belief that the beleaguered (embattled?) minister of public administration will eventually resign. Or at least be dismissed, despite all of her boss’ assurances to the contrary. But even this blogger didn’t think that it would happen this fast. Earlier today, after additional allegations against her came to light, Sanja Ajanović Hovnik tendered her resignation.
Either reader will remember that the exact quote was “whoever thinks that Golob can sugar-coat the inevitable departure of Sanja Ajanović Hovnik with a wider cabinet reshuffle should be fired on the spot for incompetence.” And indeed, not only has the minister quit, PM Robert Golob is now left with a giant political turd in his hands. Mostly of his own doing.
Consider this: Ten days ago, the Big Bird laughed away the accusations against the minister regarding her supposedly overpriced trip to New York. As little as five days ago, he had one moderate-sized headache looming, because the Ajanović Hovnik story wouldn’t go away. But at least he had a fully staffed Cabinet. As of today, he is three ministers short and looks a bit foolish. A week in politics truly is a long time.
Four people short
For those of you keeping score at home, pengovsky should note that technically Golob is four ministers short, as his pick for replacement health minister still requires parliamentary approval. Not that there is any doubt about the outcome of that vote, but hey. Numbers, right?
And while we are on the issue of the parliament, Irena Šinko’s “fuck you and the horse you rode on” move is suddenly looking like a disaster in the making. Pengovsky warned that soon-to-be-former agriculture minister’s insistence on parliamentary dismissal could get awkward for the PM. But now, with her dismissal being the only parliamentary business related to the mini-meltdown in the government, this will get positively brutal.
Unless, of course, Golob tries to split Irena Šinko’s dismissal and Valentina Prevolnik Rupel’s (the new health minister) appointment into two separate parliamentary sessions. In which case things will get brutal for him twice.
Situational awareness
Sure, governing is tough. And it sucks more often than not. But Golob just scored his fifth resignation/dismissal in less than a year (remember Tatjana Bobnar?). And of the five, all of them came from within his own party ranks. Somehow, it is hard to believe that the issue was exclusively with the five ministers who ran afoul of the PM.
Because this is no longer about spinning some cockamaime excuse to push out ministers of agriculture, and environment. The political debate now sits squarely in the area of PM’s ability to read the situation correctly. Or, at the very least, the ability to surround himself with people who read the situation correctly.
Next couple of weeks are not going to be pleasant for the Big Bird. The opposition will tear him a new asshole in the parliament. The media will be on the lookout for even the smallest signs of instability in the government. And he will need to simultaneously find three new people willing to take on a job with a noticeably diminishing rate of survival.
And you thought you were up for a shitty Monday next week, huh?
