Poklukar Vote Results Make For A Shaky Coalition

Boštjan Poklukar will stay on as minister of the interior. At least for now. With NSi taking the lead, the opposition held his feet to the fire yesterday. But in the end the no-confidence vote fell well short of the mark as only 29 MPs voted for his dismissal.

Boštjan Poklukar, addressing the parliament and defending his record as interior minister. SD and Levica abstained, making sure the opposition didn't get a majority on the vote.
Boštjan Poklukar defending his record (via RTVSLO)

That said, coalition had its own skibidi moment when they only mustered 35 votes in Poklukar’s support. Meaning that even the GS came up five votes short when supporting their own minister, as SD and Levica said upfront they were going to sit this one out.

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Protecting Private Poklukar

Chief of Police Senad Jušić resigned earlier today. And while interior minister Boštjan Poklukar denied it, the move was clearly designed to help save his ass in the upcoming no-confidence vote.

In a bid to save his own ass, interior minister Boštjan Poklukar accepted the - no doubt forced - resignation of Chief of Police Senad Jušić.
Boštjan Poklukar (right) throwing Senad Jušić under the bus (source)

SD came out swinging on Monday, saying that Jušić has to go, pronto, and only after that will they consider supporting Poklukar (or not). Not to be outdone in this powerplay, Levica followed suit yesterday, saying pretty much the same thing. While Poklukar can survive both parties’ abstentions, their votes for no confidence would seal his fate.

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Asta Vrečko, Chairwoman of the Politburo

Since pengovsky is still playing catch-up, one of the events left to process is Asta Vrečko taking over as Levica… President? Chairwoman? Coordinatress? Whatever her title, the minister of culture is now leader of the left-most coalition party. Which should not come as a surprise to either reader of this here blog.

Culture minister Asta Vrečko delivering her address during Culture Day celebrations in February 2023. She now takes over as Levica leader.
Asta Vrečko as minister of culture in February 2023 (source)

It was obvious that Vrečko was being primed for a leadership position in Levica. If not sooner, since her pilgrimage to Čebine back in April. Somewhat more surprising was the change in leadership happening so quickly. Surprising to this scribe, at least. Back in April pengovsky thought the transition was at least a couple of years away. Little did he know that Levica bolsheviks would scare the shit out Luka Mesec in less than four months’ time.

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NSi And Levica Urinating In The Natatorium

The one thing that went slightly below the radar in Muddy Hollows over the past few weeks was NSi and Levica urinating in natatoria. Or, to put in vernacular, pissing in other people’s pools. Not in each other’s pools, mind you. Although pengovsky would pay real money to see that particular shitshow.

Image of Levica and NSi logos in a swimming pool
Juvenile, but it is what it is. Sorry. 🙂

For reasons that are as clear as they are not completely thought out, NSi and Levica decided to do some light incursions into narratives traditionally held by SDS and SD, respectively. Not that nobody noticed. It is more that very few people realised just what exactly both parties were signalling. Spoiler alert: nothing good.

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Robert Golob Wins Slovenian Election: The Fuck Just Happened?

OK, so the “just” in the title is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, seeing as it has been nearly 72 hours since Robert Golob taking Janez Janša to the cleaner’s became global news. But still, Marshall Twito being defeated at the ballot box by a political adversary he himself had created, for the second time, is a big fucking deal.

Gibanje Svoboda led by Robert Golob threw a party after the election results were in.
Party at Gibanje Svoboda electoral HQ after the results came in (source)

But, wait, did pengovsky really state that Golob took Janša to the cleaner’s? He did? Well… In fact, the Glorious Leader and (some of his) minions even slightly increased their MP count. It is just that Robert Golob and his newly-minted party Gibanje Svoboda (GS) won basically all the other marbles, ending up with 41 MPs in a 90-seat parliament. Reader, it was a blow-out.

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