By: G. B.
Almost no day goes by without some bizarre statement or footage of the behaviour of the President of the National Assembly, formerly a district judge and in her youth a Soros scholarship holder, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, coming to public attention. Some are already openly talking about “Klakočarisms”.
Let us recall: Urška Klakočar Zupančič began her rapid political ascent during the previous government when she, still a judge, made herself known on social media with intolerant posts due to the measures against the spread of COVID-19. This made her recognisable, and she later apparently seized the opportunity for political engagement. She left the judiciary and joined the then Leben’s Green Actions party, which renamed itself to Gibanje Svoboda and she even became vice-president. After the elections, she was inaugurated as the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. Although our sources claim that her replacement has been threatened multiple times, she has so far managed to retain her position. Initially, she was also rumoured to have a romance with the party and government leader Robert Golob, until he first publicly appeared with Tina Gaber on the eve of the Slovenian cultural holiday last year.
Dissatisfaction is spreading
The question of why the eccentric Klakočar Zupančič, with her image of the legendary Marilyn Monroe, still remains at the top of our highest legislative body – remember, her health record is still kept as secret as a snake’s leg – likely lies in her ability to play the role of a useful idiot, as the Slovenian yellow press still eats out of her hand, and she knows well how to play the victim role. It seems she is also well taught on how to direct people’s emotions and thus control public opinion, even though she accuses others of this in the following video. Especially the “far-right”, which according to media and political mainstream interpretation encompasses the entire opposition. Well, at least the SDS, the larger of the two opposition parties. Golob and others’ rants about “dark forces”, fascists, and extremists have become even more evident, indicating nervousness within the government ranks ahead of an increasingly heated autumn, as people are losing their patience. The government has entered the second half of its mandate, and the first anniversary of last year’s tragic floods is approaching, but very little has been accomplished. Except for government “fooling around”.
She “lectures” about the “far-right”
Let’s look. Urška K. Z. explains how the far-right plays on people’s emotions, emotional reactions are severe, and politicians on the far-right know how to activate these emotions. And this is, according to UKZ, “very worrying”. “If it happens – and I hope it does not – that these far-right ideas spread across Europe, we are headed for a tragedy. Certainly. And we will once again realise how we have strayed. What can I say, maybe I would like to have a word with Mrs. Marine Le Pen, to tell her that it is possible to act differently, to be a good person. That is important. To be a good person,” Urška Klakočar Zupančič said in a video released by Svoboda.
We can agree with the comment posted by the video publisher: “Pressing on the tear ducts, they operate with the conceptual apparatus of a religious fanatic, promoting themselves as morally superior saviours while defaming others as dark forces, evil, danger. They have no substance; they are just a counterpoint.”
Narcissism on the rise
SDS leader Janez Janša is even more explicit, sharing the video and commenting: “Does the lady really believe she can grossly violate the National Assembly’s rules of procedure and preach democracy and goodness to people with 10 million votes of support? UKZ is indeed the embodiment of extremism. And narcissism. It is precisely because of such individuals that we have strayed at home and beyond. From communism and Nazism, a hybrid – narcisoism – has developed, placing man above God and nature. Narcisoists do not even know which gender they are. At the same time, they claim the right to exclude, to divide you into good and bad, extreme and normal, people with human rights and those without. For them, power is not about working for the common good but about indulging their own narcisoism and oppressing everyone who is not a narcisoist. The deceit lasts until a critical number of the labelled realise the emperor has no clothes and until they run out of your money (and votes) for them.”
One commentator on the network X, regarding the lecturing on what it means to “be a good person”, quoted the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius: “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” The same commentator predicts a very hot autumn, as Golob, due to his crazy behaviour, demands a scenario akin to Ceauşescu.
Is this a new marketing approach?
It seems that such videos also show new trends in government marketing – pre-emptive “damage control”. On one hand, the government is sending out false data that people are significantly more satisfied with life in our country than two years ago (now comparisons with the previous government have even begun to be dropped), while on the other hand, they are aware of the growing dissatisfaction that can suddenly escalate into very massive demonstrations. These would, of course, be pre-emptively attributed to the “far-right”.
Considering the events in the National Assembly – by the way, parliamentary holidays have just begun – it is not surprising that the sarcastic nickname “Benita” has recently stuck to the President of the National Assembly on social media.