By: Gašper Blažič
In a recent episode of Kavarna Hayek, where I appeared as a guest for the first time, the host Jože Biščak opened with a rather direct question: how do I assess the term of Golob’s government? I had to take a deep breath to summarise the essence briefly and clearly. Only two words came to mind, words that truly capture everything: “extremely toxic.” Meaning something that spreads poison, causes organ failure, and ultimately leads to the end of life.
I would be lying if I said this was the first government of its kind. We have already had quite a few toxic governments when the left was in power. And each time we thought nothing worse could possibly happen. When Anton Rop’s government was heading for the dustbin of history, I was convinced that an era of transitional predators was finally ending. But the fact is that they suddenly became part of an aggressive opposition, clearly expecting a guaranteed return to power. That happened in 2008 with the help of the Patria affair, practically on the eve of the global financial crisis. And lo and behold, barely had the first Janša government left office when “Mickey Mouses” began appearing in the transactions of the then‑state‑owned NLB, which explains the deep affection that Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon now shows for Iran and Hamas.
After the second Janša government came a series of “new‑face” governments. And each was worse than the one before. As if people, poisoned by the media apparatus with the idea that “everyone is the same”, kept thinking: yes, maybe Alenka Bratušek was a disaster, but now that Miro Cerar is coming… now it will be different! And then with Šarec: “Now it really will be!” And with Golob: “Now it will truly be!” What is interesting is that before these elections, the main boss of the deep state, Milan Kučan, did not offer another “blank slate” (Vladimir Prebilič could have been such an example), but instead stuck with the tried‑and‑tested formula, the current prime minister, who has recently been scoring own goals one after another, while the media and social networks, with sponsored posts from DARS and Gen‑I, carry out damage control. Perhaps we can agree that Kučan’s informal power is fading, especially after two of his key operatives, Janez Kocijančič and Zdenko Roter, passed away. Which means the “uncles” can no longer restrain the “top manager” who, already in the late 1990s, was stomping around the energy sector at the top of politics and preparing the ground for enormous profits in electricity.
Toxicity is not necessarily bad as long as it stays within limits that prevent collapse. People simply need to feel what toxicity means. And the quickest way they feel it is in their wallets. Compare how much you spend on an average monthly grocery run today versus four years ago. Does a full shopping cart not cost far more now than it did then? By that logic, voting according to the recipe “anyone but Janša” makes no sense. But there is another danger – the propaganda machine is now trying to convince all potential voters of the spring camp that “they are all the same” and that the best thing to do on election day is to stay home. This deception is extremely insidious and dangerous. And also dishonest, much like the posts by the Levica party on social media, featuring various “ordinary people,” from students to pensioners, claiming that Levica has taken great care of them this term, without mentioning that they were taken care of because they belong to the clientele connected to Asta Vrečko. The only question is whether you will choose to check the facts or simply take the government and coalition parties at their word. Sadly, there are still too many people who blindly trust government propaganda.
Let’s not fool ourselves that this government’s toxicity is a side effect. No – it is part of its very essence. Let’s stop it. Let’s send this government and the current rulers to the dustbin of history!