Matjaž Han, minister of economy and a shrewd behind-the-scenes centre of gravity, is the new leader of the Social Democrats. He was elected in the second round, entering the race at the eleventh hour and narrowly beating Milan Brglez.
As little as a week ago, Han swore up and down that he is not interested in becoming the big kahuna. While he didn’t really do a full Sherman, his avoiding the top spot tracked with his hitherto pattern of wielding power behind the scenes. So when the word leaked that is about to take the plunge, it was widely seen as a desperate move. For a reason, it turned out.
Namely, the SD congress turned out to be quite the shit-show. Usually, these things are stage-managed as carefully as possible. And even in an event of an actual power struggle, rules and arenas of engagement are clearly defined, with the ultimate aim of signaling party unity and the ability to get things done. Either now or in the future.
A party discombobulated
But with repeated problems counting votes, inability to maintain a quorum at their own party congress, which, as a result, has technically yet to be concluded, the SD signaled the exact opposite. A party discombobulated, fraught internally and chasing its own tail.
This leaves Matjaž Han with a metric fuckton of work to do. Which is bad news for him because the main reason took he the plunge was the metric fuckton of work required, in order to maintain the SD Eastern Faction’s hold on the party.
Originally, this was supposed to be the job for Jani Prednik, one of the original trio of candidates who declared after Tanja Fajon ran out of fucks to give.
But apparently Prednik was no match for Milan Brglez who rallied the, shall we say, the more traditional and ideologically oriented vote within the SD.
Which admittedly surprised pengovsky who projected that Brglez’s reserved demeanor and the fact that is wants to remain an MEP would work against him.
Well, apparently not.
Reality checks galore
After the first round, Brglez trailed Han by only five votes, with Prednik and Adjovščina mayor Tadej Beočanin coming in distant third and fourth, respectively.
This was a huge shock for both of them, but for different reasons.
Sure, Ajdovščina may be the regional powerhouse and Beočanin may be very versed in reaching across the aisle and working with centre-right parties (in his case the NSi). But nationally, the SD simply wasn’t buying what he was selling.
Prednik, on the other hand, was reminded that he is little more than political muscle. The guy they bring on to scare the other guys shit-less. An SD version of Bud White, so to speak. At least, that is how Matjaž Han sees him.
And when he was out in his place in the party food chain, he was more than a little butt-hurt. So much so, in fact, that he threw a hissy- fit and pledged his votes to Brglez instead of his mentor and sponsor Han.
But the fact that his votes did not flip the result in the second round tells you all you need to know about how much of a power base Jani Prednik has on his own. The correct answer starts with Z- and ends with -ero.
An impossible choice
Which, in the end, is the reason Matjaž Han joined the race at the last minute. And while there may now be some bad blood between master Han and apprentice Prednik, the former has decided that he doesn’t need yet another front-line. So he publicly supported Prednik to stay on as chief of SD parliamentary group, even though he offered to resign as a result.
Ultimately, however, the SD rank and file were faced with an impossible choice. They could have backed Han and his power-for-power’s sake mentality and the ever-present threat of making unsavory deals with Janez Janša. That is to say, the very things that got them into the current mess.
Or, they could have backed Brglez who advocated a stronger social democratic identity. Even though very few people in Europe have any idea what that actually is.
SD chose the devil they know best. They better pray they know him well enough.
