By: Gašper Blažič
I do not know if the publication on the Demokracija website (March 23rd) encouraged the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, to speak about the scandalous channel C0 in Ljubljana on the side-lines of the international conference on water. To that channel, which is actually not only dangerous, but also unnecessary since there are alternative solutions.
So far, the president has remained silent on this matter, even though the drama with the channel is happening just a stone’s throw from Ruska dača in Gameljne. However, the moment she was lecturing the international public about the importance of clean drinking water (which there is nothing wrong with), that silence became too loud, and she simply had to speak up. Indeed, in a peculiar, completely sarcastic way, saying that both sides in this “dispute” have sunk to a low level. Between the lines, this means a silent apology for Zoran Janković and those who support his work. This is nothing unusual, because Pirc Musar and Janković belong to Milan Kučan’s circle, while Robert Golob is now openly evading the political godfathers and becoming uncontrollable, which means that it is not impossible that Alenka Bratušek will take over the position of Prime Minister again this year. But this will certainly not solve the problems that farmers and pensioners are now expressing.
Of course, only the further course of events will show whether Mrs. President was serious with her reaction when she called for the suspension (!) of the construction of C0 channel, or whether it is just a matter of wide-mouthing or solving the current embarrassment. However, perhaps Pirc Musar is aware that spring is coming in the political sense as well. The arrival of farmers in Ljubljana, protests in front of the Ljubljana City Hall and also a rally of pensioners – soon it will be the third such rally – are signs that the apathetic mood among people is changing. Therefore, it is not surprising that the propaganda of the pro-government media is becoming more and more aggressive, which expresses great nervousness. And if beating the opposition (especially the SDS) is not enough, they will hit the “kulaks”. It would be interesting to find out what the two late architects of the Slovenian spring, Ivan Oman and Jože Pučnik, would say about the current events. The latter paid for his courage for an article on agriculture with prison…
