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Culture War Referendums, Part One

To say that Janez Janša’s ruling right-wing coalition is making a mess of things would be an understatement. Firstly, this here blog abhors using such milquetoast language, so the correct term would be incompetent twats. Secondly, despite appearances to the contrary, Janša’s minority government is shaky as fuck. In fact, judging by the last couple of weeks, his coalition partners keep picking up bad weeks to quit sniffing glue.

Slovenians will vote in four referendums this Sunday, each referendum more damaging to democratic values than the other. On the picture is a sample referendum ballot. — *A referendum ballot (photo by yours truly)*

And thirdly, whatever coherent policy they had is locked up in a referendum bid against the Logar/Vrtovec omnibus bill. And having apparently hit “empty” in their ideas tank about two weeks after taking office, the Glorious Leader and his ilk are doing the one thing they always knew how to do. Wage culture wars. Which is why the good people of Muddy Hollows will vote in four referendums this Sunday, each more damaging to democratic values than the other.

Once More Unto The Referendum Breach, Dear Friends

Apologies for abusing The Bard, but the upcoming referendum votes do have a tinge of Shakespearean drama to it. Or maybe it is the Shakespearean length of this post. Who knows. To quote Hamlet, fuck it. Going to the polls for the third time in as many weeks, and for the fifth time in eight months, is not a regular occurrence in Muddy Hollows.

Shepherd boy with flute symbolises RTVSLO. The fate of the public broadcaster in Slovenia will be determined on a referendum on Sunday. — *Shepherd boy with flute, by Zdenko Kalin, symbolising RTVSLO since forever. But for how long? (source)*

And yet, this Sunday might prove to be just as crucial as the April parliamentary election was. For those of you living under a rock for the past few months, Slovenians are about vote in three different referendums on Sunday. There is a vote in the Government Act, on the law on elderly care, and the law on RTVSLO, the public broadcaster. A fucking cornucopia of direct democracy if there ever was one. But there is a catch. Because of course there is.

The State of Muddy Hollows Play, part 5: They’re On The Pavement, Thinking About The Government

There is one relatively substantial piece of the Muddy Hollows political puzzle that nobody is quite sure how it will fall into place. Or if it will even fit at all, for that matter. Various NGOs and/or civic coalitions that have sprang to life during the pandemic are a big wildcard and could have an outsize effect on the final outcome of the vote.

The Gremo volit! campaign will attempt to increase turnout in 2022 parliamentary election in Muddy Hollows — *Launch of Gremo volit! (Let’s Vote!) campaign (source)*

This constitutes the fifth and final part of this here series. Click here for parts One, Two, Three and Four. Muddy Hollows is transitioning into full campaign mode and every move they make (and every breath they take) will now be watched from the viewpoint of election Sunday.

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.