“On Sunday evening, the Minister of the Economy, Han, talked about how there is as much oil available as we want and that the shortage will only last for a few short hours. You accused the previous government of being too rough in its communication when Kacin said, “enjoy it while you can,” but I believe it is much better to state the fact loud and clear than to use some “proper communication” and lie to people’s faces! Dr Robert Golob, you really must be very educated and have a lot of knowledge since you were able to create such chaos in the entirety of Slovenia in such a short amount of time – so, congratulations!” an angry citizen A. B. wrote on Facebook, who ran out of fuel while working on the farm, and due to the recent oil shortages, he was unable to get more fuel, so the work remained unfinished. And this is not the only such case.
After Prime Minister Robert Golob announced Tuesday’s fuel price hikes, enormous crowds at gas stations were to be expected. People came to get the fuel, for which Minister of the Economy, Matjaž Han, promised on Sunday that there was plenty of, and that there was “no need to worry that we will run out of it,” and then that was exactly what happened. The situation at the gas stations became chaotic, and people were left without fuel. Social networks were flooded with outraged reactions from citizens, including A. B., who wrote on Facebook that “it is sad that an employee from the Petrol gas station with minimum wage knows more than Minister Han.”
When the shortage of fuel caused chaos at the gas stations throughout the country over the weekend, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han, confidently said that these were only “short-term shortages” and that “commodity reserves are full,” so there is “no need to worry about the country running out of fuel.” And what happened? People were literally left without fuel, the situation at the gas stations was catastrophic, and even foreign media outlets reported on what happened. The new government, which until recently promised a better future for Slovenia and its citizens, with its (in)ability to lead, brought the citizens to the point of limiting them in their daily obligations. Social networks were flooded with outraged reactions from people, including an angry farmer Aljaž, who ran out of fuel while working on the farm, and who shared his opinion of the situation on Facebook.
He wrote that he ran out of fuel while working with the tractor and that it is incredible that the new government managed to cause such chaos in the country in less than a month of being in charge. “I miss the times when you had to put on a mask and show your proof of being recovered/tested/vaccinated in order to get fuel. Now, even putting a condom on your head does not help. If there is no fuel, they cannot give it to you. Golob, you really are an energy expert, props to you,” he wrote sarcastically.
In his post, he also mentioned that he is from Lom and that they do not have a water supply system there yet, so firefighters regularly bring water and pour it into their reservoirs, but this time, when farmer Bevk called them, they refused to come, saying that they only have half a tank of fuel and that they need to save it if a fire starts somewhere. “Congratulations, really, you really have to be intelligent to be able to bring the country into such a shitty state in record time, I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry, that is how sad this is!!” the angry citizen, wrote, adding that he misses the times when all you had to do to get fuel was show proof of vaccination, testing or recovery from Covid-19, and wishes that the state would at least provide fuels to firefighters and emergency services, so that they could bring them water, or help out those that might have a stroke due to everything that is going on.
“Every farmer has a water cannon at home.”
“I sincerely advise you to not play around with people because otherwise, you will not need a water cannon, like the Speaker of the National Assembly said. If a peasant revolt happens, you should know that every farmer has a water cannon at home, along with some heavy tractors and dangerous motorcycles,” he warned, adding that in the future, he will make sure to have an oil reserve at home, just so he can come to Ljubljana if something like this ever happens again, “and then you will see what a peasant revolt really is, there will be no cyclers present there.” The angry citizen, whose post on Facebook got lots of support and likes, wrote at the end that, unlike Minister Han, a friendly saleswoman at the Petrol gas station actually gave him some real information on when fuel would be available. “it is sad that an employee from the Petrol gas station with minimum wage knows more than Minister Han.” He added that he really does not like liars.
Tanja Brkić
