Borut Pahor And Election Deflection

Some ten days ago, president Pahor announced his intention to schedule parliamentary election in Muddy Hollows for Sunday, 24 April 2022. Ordinarily, this would have been huge fucking news. And it was. For about fifteen minutes.

Ballot box used in Slovenian elections.
The ballot box. The image is not yet purely symbolic.

Careful observers, however, noted almost immediately that the language Pahor used was, well, Pahoresque. That, in fact, the announcement was not really an announcement. Rather, it was an announcement of an announcement of an intention. That is was, en bref, a load of bullshit with the sole aim of deflecting heat off the back of PM Janez Janša.

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The Passion of Andrej Vizjak

Minister of environment Andrej Vizjak is in a bit of a pickle. And by that pengovsky means he is in a big fucking mess. Namely, a recording surfaced in which Vizjak appears to offer a helping hand to Bojan Petan, an influential tycoon (think oligarch lite) and an overall shady dude, in the latter’s quest to obtain a majority stake in a government-controlled enterprise and thus avoid paying taxes.

A photograph of Slovenian minister of environment and spatial planning Andrej Vizjak
Minister of environment, spatial planning and clandestine recordings Andrej Vizjak (source)

The enterprise in question is Terme Čatež, a popular spa resort. Crucially, however, the conversation took place 14 years ago. So, not exactly the freshest of cuts, if you get my meaning. But even before this episode Vizjak was embroiled in enough shit to make this particular bag of canine excrement stick more than it might have done under different circumstances.

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How Voters Poured Cold Water On Janša Government

In what can only be described as a landslide, voters in Muddy Hollows on Sunday rejected amendments to the Waters Act by an overwhelming margin. Voter turnout reached 45 percent, the highest in recent years. 86 percent voted against and only 13 voted in favour of the law. The voters effectively doused the government of Janez Janša in cold water.

A row of posters calling for rejection of the controversial Waters Act, urging people that the fate of fresh water is in their hands.
Posters calling for rejection of the controversial law (photo by yours truly)

The proposed changes to the legislation were fairly technical. But they were controversial enough to galvanise the opposition, a wide array of experts and – crucially – the civil society. The referendum was also the first chance for the electorate to show how they really felt about the Glorious Leader and his administration. And show they did. By flipping them a giant finger.

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