By: Dr. Stane Granda
Our Madam President is a very monumental lady. We must address her with formal reverence, because her behaviour demands it and, in her view, deserves it. With displays of power‑seeking and especially omnipotence, she at times exceeds her physical presence. When we compare one with the other, she even appears physically fragile, disproportionate to the scope and reality of her idea of authority, which she wishes to embody. I try not to succumb to feelings that arise from a sense of obligation toward the gracious sovereign – an obligation stemming from her absoluteness, perfection, and loftiness, rather than from the principles and substance of parliamentary republican democracy. She is Her Grace, not the first fellow citizen.
It is becoming increasingly clear why she could not get along with the previous president, who comes from the same political‑ideological nest and the same political patron, the man in the background. Not only are they too similar, they are identical. I do not dare ask whether Her Grace was like this from birth or from the moment she entered the first circle of the Slovenian oligarchy. This graciousness has likely deepened and shaped her into the most powerful authority figure of independent Slovenia to date. All previous presidents knew how to show some personal modesty, some connection with the people… For her, even a cooking spoon looks like a mighty royal sceptre. She holds a bowling ball as if it were a royal orb.
Slovenians have experience with women in politics since the earliest times. We recall Saint Hemma of Gurk (c. 980–1045), our first Slovenian saint. Whenever I went to Vienna, I admired the statue of Maria Theresa and thought about how much good she accomplished precisely because of her distinctive femininity. I remember women from the peasant uprisings, the revolutionary year 1848, the tabor movement, Franja Tavčar and Cilka Krek… From my youth stand out Golda Meir, the confused Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the aristocratic Indira Gandhi, and later Margaret Thatcher and the unfortunate Angela Merkel, who, as it seems, dismantled Germany’s economic strength, and whose worst possible copy is Ursula von der Leyen. Which of these resembles Her Grace, the Slovenian president? None! She is a unique specimen. Even so, women can be great politicians when they act as women and do not imitate men. Among German women, this does not apply.
The Slovenian constitution, due to Kučan’s ambitions to control Slovenia, severely trimmed the powers of the presidency. Although he could never accept this and Drnovšek had to close the connecting door between their offices to keep him out, Her Grace has bravely taken this path. Although she likely remembers little of Tito’s way of ruling Yugoslavia, it has clearly settled in her heart. She prefers foreign policy to domestic policy. We do not recall reports of visits to hospitals or care homes, mediation between unions and employers – in short, active domestic policy, which is the fundamental mission of presidents in democratic countries. Instead, she intervenes in foreign affairs. She received the mothers of Srebrenica with emotion and grace, but never Slovenian women, of whom there are many more. She did not protect Ljubljana residents from the “sewage pipeline”, nor does she speak out about catastrophic conditions on our roads, even though these most hinder her future presidential ambitions. Yet she constantly speaks out about Palestine. She is in a desperate position because she is a victim of domestic ideological power‑seekers. Support for Hamas only harms her.
The Swiss example of governance shows how a government should function. I do not know the names of any of their politicians, because they are occupied with domestic matters. Our “Little Tito” was notorious worldwide. His country collapsed when the communist dictatorship fell. Old Yugoslavia collapsed due to the Axis invasion; Tito’s Yugoslavia could not be preserved even by global powers led by the USA.
Slovenia is more divided than ever in its history. Conditions have worsened significantly under the Golob–Pirc Musar administration. We are on the brink of civil conflict. Madam President is walking Tito’s path – one that even her predecessors Kučan and Türk did not dare to take so openly. How much does Her Grace truly value the Slovenian state? Does she even acknowledge the outcome of the last elections, even though she did not grant the mandate? Do we have the right to think differently?