http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/11/eu.georgebush
GUARDIAN (UK)
COMMENT IS FREE
Washington's new limo drivers?
Slovenia's leaders, hosting President Bush's final EU summit, have shown a
servility not shared by the rest of the population
Blaz Zgaga
Wednesday June 11 2008
It is a blessing Slovenia didn't win the Eurovision song contest. Why?
Because if it had won, Eurovision 2009 would be in Brdo pri Kranju.
This joke has been circulating around Slovenia for the last few weeks. In
reality, it looks as if Slovenia and its capital Ljubljana have nothing to
do with the Slovene presidency of the European Union, not even with George W
Bush's visit. Most official events and meetings are held at the eponymous
mansion, where the former Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito hosted dictators
from all around the world. Heile Selassie, Fidel Castro, Nicolae Ceausescu
and Kim Il-sung are just a few who enjoyed the hospitality in Brdo. But in
2001, the first summit between George Bush and his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin also took place there.
After 9/11, many Slovenes sympathised with American people. For the
majority, Bush was only a president known to have problems with the
pronounciation of longer words. On the one hand, he had mistaken Slovenia
for Slovakia, but on the other was committed to peacefully completing his
mandate. Nowadays it is just the opposite. It is very difficult to find a
Slovene with a positive opinion of him. His decision to attack Iraq and the
"war on terror" has changed Bush into one of the most negative people in
this tiny country on the sunny side of the Alps. His opposition to the fight
against global warming has made him deeply unpopular as well.
But this opinion is not shared inside the political elites. Foreign minister
Dimitrij Rupel, for example, is still trying to promote American interests
in the European Union. He also brought Slovenia to the "Vilnius letter"
declaration and thus, despite opposition from the Slovene public, supported
the coalition attack on Iraq. Moreover, by sending troops to Iraq,
Afghanistan and Kosovo, Slovenia has become one of the active contributors
of soldiers. In spring 2007, almost 11% of the Slovene army was on
operations. The percentage is slightly lower now, but it's still a heavy
burden for a tiny nation whose people are against sending the troops to
those faraway lands.
Many Slovenes compare their prime minister, Janez Jansa, to George Bush.
They feel that both are arrogant, use similar methods and have deceived
their own countries. Thanks to the government's pressure on the Slovene
media, one of Jansa's nicknames is even "Little Putin".
In common with many people in the world, the Slovenes are waiting for Bush's
presidency to be over as soon as possible. The race for the US democratic
presidential candidate has therefore been followed by the anticipation of
change. After eight years of wars, terrorist attacks and the systematic
violation of the human rights of terror suspects, there is surely time for
more light. Many see Barack Obama as the best option. But in reality, the
Slovenes are not as interested in the US elections as they are preoccupied
with their own parliamentary elections in autumn.
It is not clear if the election will unseat "Local Bush" or 'Little Putin',
as some call the unpopular Jansa, nor if the new elites will be more
self-confident or will follow the same servility as shown a few days ago.
Just before Bush's visit, the cabinets of the Slovene leaders publicly
clashed on the subject of who would host the first lady Laura Bush - the
president's wife, Barbara Miklic Turk, or the prime minister's fiancee,
Urska Bacovnik? They eventually decided that both would do the job, with the
addition of the foreign minister's wife.
At the moment, a huge discrepancy is visible between the views of the
Slovenes and the servility of the political elites. However, the Slovene's
lackey manner has been derided for centuries - for decades the servile
Slovene elites were mockingly called "Vienna fiakkers" (horse-drawn taxis)
by other Yugoslav nations and in the 1990s there was a joke among Serbs that
they had been promoted to railway conductors. Subsequently, the present
level would be a promotion - to "Washington limo drivers".
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