By: Davorin Kopše
At the beginning, Mojca and I had some doubts about whether to go to the central national celebration on the occasion of the National Day or not. Little did we expect that the celebration would be the exact opposite of last year’s, which was an excess. Before leaving, we were a little afraid that we would receive from the stage the phrases that are now characteristic of Golob’s government coalition, with which they still often attack and insult Janša’s third government with lies. We agreed that in this case we will leave. In the end, the celebration turned out to be technically average and acceptable in terms of content, but we missed the emotional experience. Unfortunately, neither the stage nor the audience radiated this. Well, you could say it was the other way around as well.
A different kind of surprise
An honorary unit of the Republic of Slovenia, made up of a unit of the Slovenian Army and the Police, arrived at the scene. Flag-bearers of veteran organisations and associations with Slovenian symbols also joined. Realising that there were no red stars this time during the left-wing government, we can conclude that we have made a step forward in this regard. At least for me, it was a pleasant surprise, but the main surprise was yet to come.
Old Party member Milan Kučan came in his whimsical style. I know him from the days when I was still dealing with security matters. Kučan has always been a bit of a problem for the security service. His height made it difficult to follow him from a distance in a crowd, and he also liked to play around with security protocols. Well, this time he decided to walk next to the red carpet instead of on it. Even while avoiding the camera that was in their way with Štefka, they were careful not to step on the carpet. Either way, this may be due to subconscious processes. Considering Kučan’s role during independence, he does not even deserve the red carpet.
Prime Minister Robert Golob did not come to the celebration because he stayed in Brussels. The belief that Janez Janša would never do this in the role of Prime Minister is completely correct. Nationality Day is celebrated as the birthday of the Slovenian state, which is the biggest positive turning point in the history of the Slovenian nation. So, Golob proved once again that he is like a cooked spaghetti that does not stand upright and does not keep the right direction when pushed. All the while just some twisting and turning to avoid what he ran for and got elected to do.
We experienced an incredible climax to the shame of the celebratory event with the arrival of the President of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič. Nothing special, just a famous woman with a high position on the red carpet. Until the moment when she felt the need to turn around and raise her hands in front of the honorary unit of the Republic of Slovenia. She turned to a small group of visitors, who applauded her like everyone else. She excitedly raised both arms and spread them high above her head.
In her unusual failure, Klakočar proved once again that she is not mature enough to hold the position of President of the National Assembly. It is the second highest office in the country according to the hierarchy. If anything happens to the president or he is absent for a long time, he is replaced by the president of the National Assembly and thus also becomes the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. As such, at a public event in honour of the country and its citizens, Klakočar turned her back on the honour unit of the Republic of Slovenia, an integral part of which is the protocol honour unit of the Slovenian Army. She symbolically turned her back on the country.
Protocol has its meaning
State protocol is a set of rules of behaviour and procedures that show the external appearance of the state. It was invented so that events of national importance and representatives of the country in this element would be acceptable to everyone. Unfortunately, many rules are broken in Slovenia. With the arrival of the Gibanje Svoboda party, in addition to rules, laws and the constitution, protocol rules are also violated. This same Urška Klakočar Zupančič, who walked the red carpet like a starlet, as the President of the National Assembly invents rules beyond the rules of procedure, and she is also known for her unusual statements.
She recently stated that she is not the type of woman to get across the bed to the position. She also stated that she was not just one drawer, but several drawers. With this, she said more about herself than she probably wanted. We all know how she got to the position (elections and voting in the National Assembly), but she also opened up other parallel possibilities by denying it. By declaring that she is symbolically several drawers, she said that she has no solid foundation – character, is unpredictable and therefore unstable. In psychology, you might call this a split personality.
Excusing inappropriate outbursts is inappropriate outburst
The fact is that Urška Klakočar Zupančič’s outburst upon arriving at the celebration on Congress Square was inappropriate and unacceptable. After the event, some tried to tone down her unbalanced lavish investment. It was attributed to youthful exuberance. Some have said that it will wear off with the mileage. This is beautiful emotional poetry, but it does not hold water in the real world. Politicians should be introduced first, and then eventually occupy high positions, not the other way around.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true in Slovenia. The chatter about the need for new faces has brought us over the edge of normalcy. What is happening in Slovenia does not happen in any healthy environment. For several mandates in a row, new faces have become the highest representatives of the authorities. In this year’s elections, we got an upgrade to this.
A new face in the image of Robert Golob, who proved from the very beginning that he was not up to the task of leading the country, placed personnel (once new faces) in important positions who did not survive the germination. People had them in their stomachs and swallowed laxatives to get rid of them. The voters clearly showed them and their parties the door, and Golob pulled them through the digestive tract in the opposite direction into the stomach again, which is unique and completely abnormal.
The Slovenian electorate is no different from other electoral bodies in Europe. It may have some characteristics that have special characteristics due to 45 years of communist regime, but this should not be fatal. This is evidenced by many Eastern European countries where they do not conduct such experiments. Our problem is the media, which is untouchable in its reporting. They are allowed to hide the truth, distort it, and add tricks that tilt the seemingly correct news to the left, and many times against the right (read SDS and JJ).
I do not know how to change it, but we will only be a normal society when the information is correct. Only on this basis can the voter make an independent decision. When he decides independently, he will be able to stand firmly behind his decision for the entire term. Right now, this is not the case. After each reign of a new face, the electorate elects another new face, confirming their realisation that they previously made the wrong decision. This, however, is nothing more than wandering in a fog.