Prime minister | SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

A Hope And A Prayer

It may not seem like it but it has been nearly eight years and four governments since Muddy Hollows last had to deal with a no-confidence vote. And before 2013, the only other time a no-confidence vote was mounted was in 1992. In short, a no-confidence vote is pretty fucking rare in this neck of the woods. Doubly so when the effort is led by Karl Erjavec, something pengovsky still can’t completely get his head around.

Be that as it may, today Komeback Karl, supported by LMŠ, SD, SAB and Levica parliamentary groups, filed the fifth no-confidence motion in the history of democratic Slovenia. Wait. Fifth? Pengovsky, you dumbass, you said it only happened in 1992 and 2013!? Well, allow me to elucidate with references to specifics…

Strange Bedfellows

Politics, as they say, makes for strange bedfellows. Doubly so in Muddy Hollows, where 2020 has, among other disasters, served the country with the notion of Karl Erjavec as a serious contender for the PM post. It’s not that Erjavec doesn’t have qualifications for the job, at least on paper. It’s that it wasn’t that long ago that people were willing to drown him in his own spit for what they correctly perceived as his self-centered, arrogant and destructive politicking at the expense of everyone else.

*DeSUS is *this* close to bailing on the Glorious Leader*

And now that DeSUS leadership has voted to quit the government of Janez Janša, Komeback Karl is being hailed as the last, best hope for Muddy Hollows to finally turn the corner in the fucking mess that is the second wave of Covid-19 epidemic coupled with an increasingly illiberal government. This, of course, speaks volumes of the sad state this country has found itself in since the Glorious Leader announced victory in mid-May.

Karl the Komeback Kid

With the return of Karl Erjavec to the helm of DeSUS this past weekend, things are shaping up for some serious end-of-the-year fireworks in Muddy Hollows.

Karl Erjavec featured in a meme. — *Erjavec may have qualities but looking good in a mask is not one of them (source)*

The fact that Komeback Karl made, well, a comeback, may seem a beautifully executed political long-play. In reality, it is anything but. Then again, Erjavec will be trying to milk the situation for all it might be worth. Including making a play for the post of the prime minister.

Janez Janša 3 (With A Vengeance)

President Borut Pahor officially nominated SDS leader Janez Janša as PM candidate yesterday, after the latter secured the support of NSi, DeSUS and vast majority of SMC, thus claiming a majority in the 90-seat parliament. Pengovsky fully expected the efforts to form an alternative coalition to fail with the clock running out on them, but not for the want of trying. It was just that the path to forming a stable coalition had been so narrow both mathematically and politically, that it just didn’t seem worth it.

However, it turned out that there was enough incentive on all sides to turn enough blind eyes to just about every paradox plaguing this particular political gangbang that a deal was struck just as the first (and crucial) constitutional deadline was about to expire, following the surprise resignation of PM Marjan Šarec.

If You Don’t Like The Way The Table Is Set, Turn Over The Table

To say that today’s resignation of prime minister Marjan Šarec and his call to early election took everyone by surprise would be a gross understatement. It is, in fact, more akin to yelling “fire!” in a crowded theatre, lobbing a canister of mace in the crowd and letting an alligator loose.

*PM Šarec during his resignation address (source)*

Šarec clearly demonstrated that he gives a grand total of zero fucks about how all of this plays out. Such lack of political self-preservation instinct is a rarity in Muddy Hollows nowadays. That said, however, one must consider the immortal words of Francis Underwood: If you don’t like the way the table is set, turn over the table.