SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

Stupid Before The Storm: Golob Hit By Bobnar Boondoggle

Initially, this was going to be the write up of PM Golob and his role in the magnificently messy end to the NATO referendum pissing contest. But stupid just kept coming. Plus, there was vacay, and things to see and people to do and… well, here we are.

Robert Golob probably feeling it, probably (source and source)

Slovenian political class did us all a solid and finally departed for their vacation. However, they are also about to return to Muddy Hollows, interfrastically, In the mean time, they’ve set some ticking time-bombs that are set to explode at the height of upcoming campaign season. What follows is a short series to catch up with stupid before the storm.

Somehow, Robert Golob Made Slovenian NATO Shit-Show Even Worse

Some men are born great. Others achieve greatness. But some are just stupid little shits willing to put national security at stake in a coalition pissing contest. This, is in essence is what Robert Golob surprise announcement of a NATO membership referendum boils down to. There’s a backstory to it, obviously. But for starters suffice it to say the highlight of Friday’s shit-show was entirely due to Robert Golob’s fragile ego.

PM Robert Golob during NATO summing in The Hague. In Slovenia he is looking down the barrel of yt another referendum. This time on defence spending and NATO. — *PM Robert Golob during NATO summing in The Hague (source)*

First, the SDS (predictably) outmanouvered him in the parliament. Then, the SD (also predictably) hung him out to dry on 5% defence spending referendum. And then the Big Bird flew (!) off the handle and made the whole shit-show even worse by calling for a referendum on NATO membership. Talk about shooting your balls off just to prove a point.

NSi Discontinues Matej Tonin

Matej Tonin, the Internet Explorer of Slovenian politics, will receive no further upgrades as of September this year. The NSi leader who came to power in a coup against Ljudmila Novak back in 2017 exited the stage in pretty much the same fashion, back-stabbed by his own party council.

Like Windows 10, Matej Tonin has reached end-of-support. There will be no further updates to the software. Ljudmila Novak would like a word while Janez Janša is chuckling. — *End of NSi support for Matej Tonin*

Namely, despite earlier assurances to the contrary, NSi honchos decided on Friday afternoon they are amenable to teaming up with Janez Janša and his SDS after the 2026 election. And so they did to Tonin what Tonin did to Ljudmila Novak, and cachiered him unceremoniously. Just as pengovsky prediced a year ago.

Borut Pahor Aiming At Palestine, Shooting For A Comeback

Former president Borut Pahor went on national telly last Sunday and – among other things – said that while he is shocked (shocked!) over events in Gaza, he wouldn’t go so far to describe them as genocide. This was a direct rebuke of his successor Nataša Pirc Musar who did describe the atrocities in Palestine as genocide during her European Parliament address.

Borut Pahor on national television, avoiding the definition of a genocide (source) — *Borut Pahor avoiding the definition of a genocide (source)*

Obviously, what Borut Pahor says or does not say, has no influence on facts on the ground. It only reinforces the image of a self-serving (former?) politician, unable to take a principled stance on even the most basic of ethical questions. But it also raises (for the lack of a better word) an interesting question: has he gone mental? Because word on the street is that Pahor is attempting a political comeback.

Janez Janša Forever And Ever

What do Janez Janša and PFAS have in common? Apparently, both are forever. That, at least, is one of the takeaways of the SDS congress that took place this past weekend. The other takeaway being that the Party and its Glorious Leader will (again) go for broke.

Janez Janša during his acceptance speech. With almost 40 years as SDS president he is basically a forever president. — *Janez Janša humbly accepting four more years as Party leader (source)*

Janša won his tenth consecutive term as SDS leader by a lopsided 98.4 % of the vote. This makes him the longest-serving living party leader in Europe, bar none. And even among the dearly departed party chiefs, the only one to have served longer than Marshal Twito is, well, OG Marshal Tito.

Coalition Loses Arts Referendum

That sound you hear right now is the sound of a can of whoop-ass being opened on the Golob government. In today’s referendum, the SDS-backed NO vote won with as much as 93 percent of the vote, which is about as clear a result as you can get. The coalition gambled by calling for a vote boycott and lost. Bigly.

Referendum ballot in today's vote on artists' pension bonuses — *Referendum ballot*

Maybe now Levica and GS will finally learn that calling for electoral boycotts is not really their thing. True, this referendum was an uphill battle for them from the start. But by choosing not to play and hoping for the best is not a strategy, either.

Art Pensions Referendum: Has The Coalition Even Said Thank You To US Embassy Once?

In four days this sorry little excuse for a country will vote on a referendum that is fucking bizarre. Namely, the question at hand is whether outstanding artists should get a state-funded bonus to their pensions after retirement. Things got even bizarre-er when the US embassy in Ljubljana waded in on the issue.

US Embassy in Slovenia tweeted a quote by J.D. Vance and waded into a referendum campaign on art pensions. — *Screenshot of the offending US Embassy Tweet (source)*

The provision on pensions has been on the books for nearly five decades. Since 19-goddamn-74, to be precise. Golob government, specifically Levica coordinatrix Asta Vrečko, sought to update it and fix some loopholes. But the SDS never met a referendum opportunity it didn’t like and so they went all in.