By: Jože Biščak
By “virtue signalling” some do not incur costs, but they cause harm. Usually deliberate if we are talking about politicians; especially those of the coalition, which place their “virtue” from a position of (over)power alongside that of the opposition. Then we get exhibitionist narcissism, which in the name of justice celebrates the burning of everyone around who might question their good intentions. In the end, it turns out that they are just puffed-up peacocks with the inscription around their necks: “We are the government, and we have guns.” But very evil. And very dangerous.
This is exactly what went through my mind last Thursday when I sat as a witness before the commission of inquiry. I felt like a defendant, sitting before the tribunal as Thomas Stratton, the hero of Breakfast in London, one of the seven stories in my dystopian novel Traveling with Orwell, set in the year 2049. When I submitted the text to the printer in the summer of 2020, I did not even imagine in my dreams, that the time of events in the novel would come already this year, even less that I would relive the feelings of the hero in the real world. Only Stratton’s bitter end is missing – to be tortured and executed. Judging by the hostile gesturing and the way of questioning, it is probably not far. It was seen that they had already made up their minds and that the meetings were just a circus for the public. I could be wrong but am afraid I am (also this time) right.
It is not the first time that the left has abused the institution of parliamentary inquiry not only to discredit ideological opponents, but also to demonise the conservative media. Prime Minister Golob set the goal even before the elections: the abolition (destruction) of certain media, the role of Frank Nitti was assigned to Mojca Šetinc Pašek. The methods are sneaky, they resort to typical “fishing” – they search blindly, as they require data and documents that are not the subject of the investigation. Such collection constitutes a severe violation of fundamental human rights. But when the left goes on a witch hunt, anything goes, right? At that time, the human rights ombudsmen on duty shut their eyes. And the man who finds himself in this vortex is forced to walk between the drops: if he gets wet, he is guilty.