By: Mitja Iršič
Amidst the magnificent victory of the right-wing in the European elections, which serves as a sort of band-aid on the bizarre victory of the Gibanje Svoboda party in the parliamentary elections, we witnessed a rare occurrence that usually happens behind the scenes of Ninamedia, Valicon, and Mediana polls – we observed the transition of steadfast left-wing voters from one new face to another.
Gibanje Svoboda had one of the least competitive lists in the history of the European elections. Despite this, the party received 148,304 votes, which is a defeat compared to the parliamentary elections, but considering the performances of its candidates and – even more – after two years of socialist torment by Golob’s government, nearly 150,000 votes is certainly a success. 70,835 votes for the comically unprepared Irena Joveva is a peculiar sign that left-wing voters vote by the automatism of ideological allegiance.
It is even more interesting that this time, due to the grotesque incompetence and unpopularity of the Gibanje Svoboda and Robert Golob, the left-wing votes split for the first time to a new face before the old one was even removed. The hollow Vesna party received 70,398 votes, and its list leader Vladimir Prebilič received a significant 74.12% (52,178) of those votes, clearly indicating that the party was merely a show of force by the new face projectors, who are apparently still in shape. Prebilič was pushed to the forefront (as one of the candidates with the best prospects) also by the mainstream media – recall that in the first debate on RTV Slovenia, Prebilič stood alone with the heavyweights, while Peter Gregorčič from SLS was absent because the polls (Ninamedia, Mediana) did not rate him highly enough.
Prebilič is a concentration of all the worst traits offered by Slovenian politics. Kučan’s Russian “peacemaker” accuses Ursula von der Leyen of militarism, unanswered questions about her role in the Pfizer affair, and ignoring social disparities or taxing the ultra-rich. Thus, the package includes Kučan’s “peacekeeping” that forces Ukraine to capitulate, covert flirting with so-called antivax dimwits, and socialist redistribution that would rob meritocratic success of its hard-earned wealth. He personifies everything that is wrong with our failed state. Unfortunately, he also embodies everything the left-wing political base desires.
Thus, in this time and space, the previous and the future new face of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovenia met for the first time in the elections, as the creators of left-wing coalitions have not yet managed to get rid of the previous one. The phenomenon is extremely interesting for understanding the psychology of the masses and as an intimate insight into how the left-wing voting monolith thinks.
While the majority still voted for the previous incarnation of the new face regardless of the alternative offered by the backers, half voted for the new one, which is still the so-called face in waiting. This way, we confirmed two things: left-wing voters are loyal to the left, even when it commits incredible atrocities (two years of destructive statism, two years of incompetence, two years of “cleansing” Janša supporters, two years of absolute operational ineptitude…), and those who are not quickly turn to the next media-political project, which essentially represents the same ideas.
So, the uncles got everything they wanted: inertia of support for the dominant party on the left, and simultaneously the desire for a new face. They confirmed that the left-wing base never doubts its ideological foundation. A typical example is the management of state-owned companies. When they find out, disappointed, that a state-owned company is performing poorly, mired in systemic corruption and nepotism, their first thought is that everything would be different if there were competent management. We have not yet managed to explain to the left-wing monolith that good state management in the economy does not exist. Every state intervention in the economy involves people dealing with someone else’s money.
Therefore, the cross-section of the clash of two new faces indicates only that the left still believes in the ideals of an immortal revolution and a thousand-year socialist Reich. Of course, most of these people are entirely convinced of their worldview. But we do not need all of them. In the European elections, we broke through the left’s historical advantage of at least 5% for the first time. We only need 5% of this base. How will we convince them? Let’s start with the basics: ask them if they want Robert, Emilija, Dominika, Alenka, Luka, Sanja, and Asta to manage their own money. If the answer is no, it is time for further discussion.