SDS | SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

About THAT Janša Retirement Teaser

Muddy Hollows celebrated her birthday last week. And it just so happened that a few days before the big event, N1 media outlet reported that Janez Janša apparently floated the possibility of political retirement. This obviously stopped the political and pundit class dead in their tracks. It also made the off-year anniversary of Slovenian independence that much more interesting.

Silhouette of Janez Janša facing a sunset, symbolising retirement. A composite image. — Is the Glorious Leader riding off into the sunset?

On that note, pengovsky should point out that president NPM delivered her first state-of-the-nation-ish speech as part of the official festivities. And did a fine job of it. She also didn’t mention Marshal Twito, at least not directly. But she did tear him a brand new asshole by forcefully rejecting casual references to civil war. Something Janša was throwing around liberally over the past few weeks.

Anže Logar Takes The Plunge

Former presidential hopeful, foreign minister in the last Janša regime and SDS wonderboy Anže Logar made the long-anticipated, on-again-off-again move and went solo. That said, “plunge” in the title is doing a lot of heavy diving, as it were. If anything, he jumped into the kiddy pool, with floaties on and daddy watching from the sidelines.

Anže Logar and founding members of Platforma Sodelovanja. — Platforma Sodelovanja skeleton crew /w Anže Logar in the middle (source)

Logar, still very much a leading Party member, followed the well-established playbook on launching a high-profile political project in Muddy Hollows. He formed an association. A true, honest-to-god debate club. Think Gentlemen’s Horticultural Society, only it includes women, too. And so, Platforma Sodelovanja (Platform of Cooperation) was born.

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.

Janša’s Gift To Robert Golob

The one thing Robert Golob and his coalition really needed right now was a pep talk. You know, like Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday. Or Captain America in Avengers: Endgame. Or Sean Connery in The Hunt For The Red October. Instead, they got Janez Janša and his SDS holding a whole-day government accountability debate. Which, as it turns out, was almost as good.

PM Robert Golob responding to Janez Janša's criticism of his government. — *Golob addressing Janša directly (source: M. Sušnik/Nat’l Assembly)*

The technical term for this is interpellation. It is set out in Artic l e 250 of parliamentary rules and procedures, for all you nerds out there. But in a move that was as pointless as it was petty, the Party invoked it against the entire government. With this, they ensured the whole thing would have no repercussions at all. And they only did it to cut the NSi off at the pass, anyhow.

Janša’s Seniors Ask For A Happy End

Reader, I shit you not. A happy end. To be honest, the entire meat of this post can be stiffed into the title. Like a skin boat going to tuna town. Still, this is supposedly a blog about Muddy Hollows politics. So, let’s pitch a tent and see just why SDS seniors got down to the parliament yesterday and engaged in some early afternoon delights.

SDS pensioners standing by a protest sign demanding a 200 EUR raise in pensions and a happy end. — *SDS silver-haired samurais demanding a happy end, as it were. (source: RTVSLO)*

On the face of it, Janša’s silver-haired samurais demanded a 20% raise of pensions and a slew of other bonuses. Which, yeah, good luck with that. But the real message here weren’t the demands as such. The message was that Janša can still whip up a crowd. Even though his general political fortunes are more like a brewer’s droop. The other message was that apparently his senior section really wants to come.