The kakistocracy continues

Sonja Stojadinovic

The feeling of revolt, disappointment, and even anger prevails through the population that expressed the support to the SDSM coalition in the last parliamentary elections. Were the expectations for swift changes unrealistic, or were the promises unrealistic, it’s a bit harder to say. Apart from the condemnation and criticism of the wrong personnel decisions, SDSM’s mistakes do not stop. Contrary to the calls that DPMNE representatives are left in high positions, new employees are mysteriously emerging, that the public asks how they got to those positions. On the other hand, those who gloat on this government’s mistakes respond: those of you who are now rebelling – what did you protest for? So that you can get in government positions? No, so that the illiterate, half-literate and the servants are not placed in those government positions. Contrary to the promises that employing cadres who are not party members, but competent and educated, we are still witnessing the emigration of those cadres who need to rectify the state. The members of the kakistocracy remain to rule.

Like almost all coined words, this one has a root in the Greek word kakos (the worst) and kratos (ruling). From 2006 to 2017 we had a kakistocracy, or rather the rule of the worst, the most frustrated, the completely incompetent. Although the word first appeared in the 17th century, the expansion in use is experienced during the reign of Ronald Reagan. Obviously his administration was at such a low level that it deserved this word to be put back into use.
Neither can we commend more with the change of power. As things go, the only major change was replacing the ’lion’ with a ‘star’, which cannot be called a pentagram, and a half-dried rose. The patriarchal behavior towards women, installed by Gruevism, where women were only child-birthing machines in their mental states, appeared in the statement made by Minister Venko Filipce. It is good that they did not continue with the ‘third-child campaign’ and asked us to create slogans for increasing the birth rate, as did our Serbian neighbors, and became a laughing stock in the media. But the way things are going, it might happen soon. And, the slogan will probably be: if you do not have children, we will make one for you.

One fortunate thing in all that misfortune is that the years of the VMRO sharpened the sense of functional state and created investigative journalists, so far they are the most reliable reporters for the new big and small mistakes of our new government. They do not care if someone was a leftist, colorful revolutionary, and more colorful than those who sat in the armchairs, and the greatest merit was that they were more persistent in begging for office. Investigative journalists do not stick labels of ineligible, leftists, such in fear that someone will take their office that does not belong to them, as the new careerists know from doing it by awareness of how much they are incapable. They ideally used Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s call to criticize the new government and decided not to allow the VMRO rule to be repeated. And now, that some new people and careerists do not like that, it’s not their problem. If you cannot endure strong criticism and disclosure of your misuse of official credit cards and official vehicles, then do not get involved and sit on the official armchair. Because investigative journalists and the public have decided to act according to the maxim: the power is removed from one’s back, along with their skin. Unless you play by the rules and by the law.

So, my dear new government employees ​​and careerists, as well as the new government, do not be the new kind of kakistocrats because it will not be difficult for us to get out on the streets again. Those eleven years of DPMNE created a wonderful staff for raising the state on their feet. Use it and enter history not as kakistocrats with dried-up rose, but as reformers with bright stars.