Pirate Party | SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

The State of Muddy Hollows Play, part 4: Springtime For Green Parties?

Following yesterday’s Taiwanese Twattery by PM Janša, pengovsky now returns to regular programming. This time, we will discuss green parties, among other things. But just to recap. In Part One we covered the Glorious Leader and what is left of his coalition (mostly NSi). In Part Two we introduced the new messiah Robert Golob and outlined the fraught relation opposition KUL parties have with him (and among themselves).

Urša Zgojznik and Uroš Macerl, leaders of Vesna, one of many green parties competing in this year's election in Slovenia. — *Urša Zgojznik and Uroš Macerl of Vesna party (source)*

We finished Part Three stating Konkretno (rebranded SMC) and other political rejects will need a goddamn miracle to make it into the next parliament. Future ex politicians in close orbit around Zdravko Počivalšek will probably only see the inside of the National Assembly if they join a guided tour. But sometimes miracles do happen.

2018 Parliamentary Election: Bells And Dog-Whistles

With only days remaining, the 2018 Slovenian parliamentary election campaign continues to underwhelm both in style and substance. There has been precious little movement in top positions in public opinions polls, but as time is running out nervousness is starting to set in, with subtle policy hints and dog-whistles giving way to veritable bullhorns in crude attempts to pick up an additional vote or two.

Best of the worst of campaign posters. (source, source and source)

Parties are promising everything and the moon to their voters. No commitment is too off-the-rails, no slogan is beyond the pale and no lie too bald-faced to serve the purpose. Sometimes it feels as if everyone involved just went off the rocker a bit. But given that between 20 and 45 percent of the electorate remain undecided (depending on which poll you look at), that is probably to be expected.

Continue reading 2018 Parliamentary Election: Bells And Dog-Whistles

Gold Rush

In a development that surprised a grand total of zero people, Marjan Šarec, mayor of Kamnik and erstwhile presidential candidate announced yesterday that he will take part in the parliamentary election. This comes on the heels of a host of new political parties announced or already formed and ready to enter the already-crowded arena. And with the vote six months out it is high time pengovsky takes a closer look at the lay of the land .

Slovenian ballot box (photo by yours truly)

Although reguraly decried by their more established and/or traditional cousins as attempts to con and defraud the good citizens of Muddy Hollows, new parties are by no means a purely Slovenian phenomenon. Case in point Czech Republic (or Czechia, as it now wants to be called in English) where a large majority of parliamentary parties have yet to celebrate their tenth birthday and one was established only two years ago. Or neighbouring Slovakia where two parliamentary parties were non-existent as little as three or four years ago. Or even France, where the right wing is currently billed as Les Republicains but used various acronyms throughout the decades as its (originally Gaullist) platform evolved. All this and we haven’t even mentioned Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique En Marche which was but a figment of imagination as little as eighteen months ago but has since opened a can of whoop-ass on the French political establishment.

Continue reading Gold Rush