Elections '22 | SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

Pirc Musar Holds Off Brglez, Is Now Up Against Logar

Anže Logar and Nataša Pirc Musar advanced to the second round of the Muddy Hollows presidential election. The SDS-backed candidate came out on top with about 34 percent of the vote in yesterday’s first round of voting. But it was the race for second place everyone was watching. Milan Brglez was within theoretical striking distance of Nataša Pirc Musar right up until the last days of the campaign.

Anže Logar and Nataša Pirc Musar, shaking hands after Round One of the Slovenian presidential election. They will face off in Round Two. — *Anže Logar and Nataša Pirc Musar will face off in Round Two (source: STA YouTube)*

In the end, however, it wasn’t even close. Pirc Musar won 27 percent while Brglez got just north of 15 percent. It was a short post-campaign party for the SD and Gibanje Svoboda candidate. What follows now is a Slovenian version of political kabuki theatre where everyone expects and works toward a foregone conclusion but where things can still go horribly wrong.

It’s Not The Crime, It’s The Cover-Up

Right of the bat, pengovsky should note that there was no actual crime. Additionally, “cover-up” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. But with three, nay, two days before the end of the campaign, the three leading candidates (and certain other also-rans) continue to be their own worst enemies.

The debate on RTVSLO where leading candidates made it look like they were involved in a cover-up of their past deeds, even though they weren't. For the most part at least. — *Presidential debate on RTVSLO (source)*

Nataša Pirc Musar, Milan Brglez and Anže Logar have made an utter shitshow of explaining away the, shall we say, less-likeable parts of their respective political backgrounds. Be it personal wealth, leveraging access or simple party affiliation, they couldn’t come up with a line that would blunt these questions and force the media to move on. And then there is Miha Kordiš. Oh, boy…

Presidential Election: A Three-Way Race For The Big Cheese

Muddy Hollows is about two-and-a-half weeks away from the first round of the presidential election in Muddy Hollows. Thus, it is about fucking time we had some serious polls. Based on that it looks like a three-way race for the top two spots leading into the second round. Scheduled for mid-November, it will most likely end in a victory for the candidate who is not Anže Logar.

A picture from the first presidential election debate on TV Slovenia. — *Presidential debate on RTVSLO (source: RTVSLO)*

That said, things are still very fluid at the top right now. Especially of note is the relatively large pool of undecided voters. 15 percent is enough to shake up the order of the top three. On the other hand, the remaining four candidates probably won’t break out of single digits, much less make a serious play at the second round.

Robert Golob Shoots Himself In The Same Foot Twice

When pengovsky went on summer vacay, the presidential race looked like a no-brainer. Sure, a week is a long time in politics. But with Nataša Pirc Musar, Anže Logar and Marta Kos declaring early, things seemed pretty much decided. The only question was whether Logar would lose to Kos or to Pirc Musar in the second round. This scenario went to hell in a hand-basket when Marta Kos bailed out of the race late last month, leaving Robert Golob with a bit of a problem.

Marta Kos, Robert Golob and Milan Brglez. — *Kos, Golob and Brglez. Or, in aviary terms, blackbird, pigeon and nuthatch.*

Then things got really interesting really fast. First, the NSi launched their own candidate. This all but denied Anže Logar the chance to unify the right-wing vote in the first round. And then Social Democrats – after an intensive internal monolgoue – fielded Milan Brglez MEP as their man on the ballot. Finally, Robert Golob made a string of strategic fuck-ups and ended up looking as if he only entered national politics last year. Oh, wait…

2022 Presidential Campaign Season Is Now Officially Open

Presidential campaign season is finally on in Muddy Hollows. And it looks like it is going to be fucking awesome. Not necessarily in the constructive sense of the word. Be that as it may, there was movement on the presidential front just before the summer break.

Photo of Nina Krajnik and Nataša Pirc Musar in the first, albeit unofficial, debate of the 2022 presidential campaign. — *Presidential hopefuls Nina Krajnik and Nataša Pirc Musar sparred on N1. (source)*

Curiously – and most definitely awesome in the constructive sense of the word – four of the five candidates that have declared running for president thusfar are all women. OK, so there’s also this guy that goes by the name of SoulGreg, but he is not really important. What is important, is the fact that with the open 2022 presidential race, the field is about to get very crowded very fast.

The First Government of Robert Golob

Robert Golob finally put the ministers into his prime-ministership. The parliament voted on his cabinet yesterday and – to nobody’s surprise – approved the whole lot. Only it didn’t. Because this is not the cabinet Robert Golob wanted. Rather, it is the cabinet he can have at this moment.

Robert Golob and his (first) government, pictured immediately after the swearing-in ceremony. — *The initial setup of Golob government (source)*

This is a direct result of SDS moving to call a consultative referendum on the new Government Act. It stopped Golob’s redesign of the executive dead in its tracks and forced him to adhere to the existing layout. But the Big Bird will eventually get his way and a cabinet he really wants. So in a way, yesterday we saw the swearing-in of Robert Golob’s first government.

Robert “Big Bird” Golob And His Flock

In an event that surprised a grand total of zero people, Robert Golob was appointed The Big Bird on Wednesday evening. The only thing that was a bit uprising was a shorter-than-expected debate on the National Assembly floor. Even though the show kicked off at 3 PM, Golob was sworn as the new PM-elect early enough to (presumably) take a shower and have a quick bite before he made the rounds on late-night news programmes.

Robert Golob during his swearing-in ceremony in National Assembly. — *Rober Golob during his swearing-in ceremony (source: Matija Sušnik/Nat’l Assembly)*

Both readers will remember from pengovsky’s earlier writings on government-forming in Muddy Hollows that Golob’s swearing-in debate and ceremony was only Act One. The dude now has to present his cabinet (that is to say, his – well – flock) and have them sworn in as well. Then, and only then, will Golob take the reins of power from Marshal Twito.