Nataša Pirc Musar | SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

The President Had One Job…

In a surprise address to the media on Saturday morning, President Nataša Pirc Musar announced she will not be making a PM nomination. Assessing that no candidate can secure an absolute majority in the parliament, she notified Speaker Stevanović (shudder!) that she is so done with this shit, even though she still had two more weeks to come up with a name.

President Nataša Pirc Musar standing behind a lectern last Saturday. She said she will not nominate a PM. At all. With this she may have opened herself to impeachment and is definitely guilty of political malpractice. — *President Pirc Musar announcing she will remain nominee-less (source)*

Not to put too fine a point on it, the president fucked up royally. In one fell swoop, she made a huge political error, missed an opportunity to hold parliament accountable, screwed up the messaging (again) and possibly opened herself up to an impeachment proceeding. It is, to use a technical term, a clusterfuck.

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Janša

If your idea of Santa Claus is a bald guy with a thick Dolenjska drawl who has it in for public media and NGOs, then Christmas is about to come early in Muddy Hollows. Namely, despite claiming the opposite, Janez Janša is on the cusp or forming his fourth government.

President Pirc Musar will probably end up with Janez Janša as her second prime minister. In the picture, both are ecstatic as fuck at this prospect. — *Janez Janša and Nataša Pirc Musar, fucking extatic at the prospect of seeing one more of one another (source)*

That much is obvious after president Pirc Musar held her first official round of consultations before she appointing a PM nominee. To be fair, no-one has yet secured the 46 votes necessary in the first and second rounds of PM appointment procedure. But with Robert Golob taking a step back, the initiative is with the Glorious Leader. And he sure behaves as if he had already clinched it.

Janša Disputes Results While Golob Coos Partners

It has been a week since the Slovenian election and Janez Janša keeps re-litigating the result. Apparently he skipped school when they were learning how nobody likes a sore loser. Or, he may be in more shit with rank and file than he lets on. Which is why he keeps kicking this particularly deceased horse.

President Pirc Musar met with PM Golob do discuss election results. She also met with Janez Janša, Jernej Vrtovec, Anže Logar and leaders of every other party elected to the new parliament. — *President Pirs Musar informally meeting Robert Golob to discuss election result (source)*

On the other hand, Robert Golob and Nataša Pirc Musar are calling meetings. Right now, these are purely about taking the temperature. But in this brave new world of post-rational politics vibing is super important, apparently. So there are already attempts at making people comfortable around one another.

Slovenian Election To Be Held On 22 March, Says The Prez

Parliamentary election in Muddy Hollows is scheduled for 22 March this year. This is the gist of a decree president Nataša Pirc Musar signed earlier today. The date is not a surprise as NPM said as much just before Christmas. But it does mean that as of today the game is officially afoot.

President Nataša Pirc Musar set 22 March this year as election day for electing a new Slovenian parliament. — *President Pirc Musar signing the election decree (photo: Bor Slana/STA)*

Both readers of course know that the game has actually been afoot at least since October. The only real casualty here is pengovsky’s slightly tongue-in-cheek projection of 8 March as election date. But for that to happen, a lot of things would have to fall in place. Including a pliant president. And we know how things are in that department.

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.

Nataša Pirc Musar Takes Over As The Big Cheese

Nataša Pirc Musar took over as the fifth president of Slovenia on Friday. Traditionally, the takeover is done on 23 December, the anniversary of the independence plebiscite. It is also the last full working day before December Debauchery gets turned up to 11 in Muddy Hollows, so the new prez can give the new office a spin.

Nataša Pirc Musar inspects the guard of honour after arriving at her new office for the first time. — *President Pirc Musar inspecting the guard of honour (source)*

Given that the president is the commander in chief, the entire ceremony was remarkably low-key. If it weren’t for a full guard of honour and a red carpet, you could well miss the whole thing. Especially since it was tucked away behind the miniscule Council of Europe Park, between the presidential building and the employee entrance of Cankarjev dom. In a way, this is typical for Muddy Hollows. The more important the occasion, the less pomp there is.

Nataša Pirc Musar, Commander In Chief

Nataša Pirc Musar was elected the first female president of Slovenia on Sunday. The end result was very much in line with polling predictions. The president-elect won just shy of 54 percent of the vote while Anže Logar, got 46 percent, the largest percentage for any SDS president candidate ever. Thus, another glass ceiling had been broken in Muddy Hollows, the third one in less than six months.

President-elect Nataša Pirc Musar at a lectern during a press conference with the outgoing president Borut Pahor. — *President-elect Nataša Pirc Musar during a welcome-tour at her future office (source)*

Nearly a decade had passed since Alenka Bratušek and her brief-but-crucial stint as first female PM of Muddy Hollows. It took the country until late spring this year to see Urška Klakočar Zupančič become first female Speaker. Weeks later, Tanja Fajon was appointed the first female foreign minister. And now, NPM won the race for the top job. Women have finally arrived.