“I stared at the screen for a long time to see if it might be a double or a deep fake because I did not expect such a downgrade of the role of President of the Republic. Especially after all the mockery of Pahor by her voters. Who, let’s admit it, remained statesmanlike throughout his term,” political commentator Dr Žiga Turk wrote on Twitter about the first moves of our new President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar. Namely, she recently appeared on a show on Radio-Television Slovenia with comedian Tilen Artač.
On Thursday, the new President was sworn in. Throughout her election campaign, Nataša Pirc Musar stressed that she would be different and, above all, better than her predecessor, Borut Pahor, who was always being accused by the left, including Pirc Musar, of downgrading the role of President of the Republic with his actions.
A bad start for Pirc Musar
The name of the show is “Kaj dogaja” (“What’s Going On”), with the well-known TV show host and stand-up comedian Tilen Artač. Nataša Pirc Musar initially appeared on the show as a co-host, which is actually her former profession. With this alone, she crossed the line between “presidential” and appropriate, and then she continued in the role of President, talking about the topic of political satire and humour among politicians. Žiga Turk described this as a downgrade of the Presidential office, especially in view of all the mockery of former President Pahor, who, in Turk’s view, “always remained statesmanlike.”
Political commentator Mitja Iršič also pointed out another aspect of what happened. The lackey-like role of the comedians towards the left, while those on the right are usually the targets of their satire. Thus, in Slovenia, we are witnessing a constant mockery of the “backward” right and praise for the “cool” left, which has always been a powerful political weapon of the latter. The Slovenian comedic scene clearly needs a refreshment of ideas, and the new President of the country needs more self-control in the exercise of her presidency. Despite her criticism of her predecessor, Pahor, she must realise that he was a far better President than she herself is.
Andrej Žitnik
