By: Matej Zorko
The long hot summer has begun, as we like to say. June was above average hot, not only weather-wise, but also on the political floor. The new government ensured that we experienced a fuel collapse unlike any we remember. Word spread among the people that the order that the service stations had to stop selling came from the top. How else would fuel run out in just a few hours almost everywhere?
They said that people were stocking up before the price went up and that there was a big influx of tourists that weekend. In the years before corona, the numbers of tourists were significantly higher, but this was never a reason to run out of fuel. Even in places that not even many Slovenians have heard of, let alone visited by tourists, the underground reservoirs are said to be empty. The story with the purchase of wheat is more interesting. The government decided to buy all wheat from Slovenian farmers. It is like the market does not work. On the other hand, we listen to experts and former colleagues of the current Prime Minister that electricity prices will continue to rise, that the winter ahead will be the most extreme, and then prices would stabilise by 2025, but of course not decrease. So why does the government not also buy all the electricity from Slovenian power plants? Why does the situation in the world affect the price here? Why is electricity irritating at all, let’s ask? Has the price of the Drava, Sava, and Soča, which turn the turbines, increased? The coal for TEŠ is mined at home, and the fuel for the nuclear power plant does not represent the majority of the plant’s operating costs either. A handful more than clearly make a nice profit in these deals at the expense of all of us. Just like someone who will be selected in a government tender to compare the prices of 15 food products in stores will earn a fortune, which will not be any cheaper because of it.
Based on what we have seen and heard in recent days, we will not be surprised, even if one day the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia arrogantly declares something to the effect: If they do not have bread, they should eat potica. This should raise the alarm and give reason to fill Slovenian squares and streets.