Page 158 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 158
plex Gateways
able timeframe.’ He attacked the belief that the essence of socialism lies
in the distribution of goods and not in production, and further resented
a stubborn adherence to the virtues of solidarity and unity at the price of
poverty and shortages.
In the discussion, Kavčič briefly addressed the construction of a rail-
way to connect Koper with the interior. It was a top priority for the Port of
Koper. Kavčič was in favour of the project, claiming the construction was
of national (economic) interest to Slovenia. But above all, Kavčič outlined
how, in the realm of ideas, a part of society, even some communists, were
confused and suffering from stagnation. ‘The struggle between the old
and the new’ is how Kavčič described the process, and by doing so prob-
ably unintentionally repeated the ‘formula’ infamously used by Stalin to
explain away every phenomenon. When asked whether conflicts over in-
come distribution between those who have more and those who have less
were about to emerge, he replied in the affirmative. Kavčič more or less
openly admitted there would be winners and losers. He anticipated all
sorts of conflicts, including between low income workers and those who
were better off thanks to their work performance. But in his view, these
conflicts were not something to be afraid of (AS 1589/IV, t. e. 1664, a. e.
137, fasc. 455, Zapisnik, 17 December 1965).
The strike at the Port of Koper in 1970
Born in 1922, Danilo Petrinja was a typical first generation socialist di-
rector. He started life as a carpenter, participated in the national liber-
ation struggle from 1943 to 1945, was a Party member from 1944, and
performed various political tasks until he was finally appointed direc-
tor of the Water Community of Koper (Vodna skupnost Koper) in 1956,
the company which would shortly undertake construction of the Port of
Koper (Marušič 2010, 190–4). After 1945, in Slovenia as in all Yugoslavia,
factory directors bore a closer resemblance to army commanders (which
many in fact had been) than to normal managers. In fact, many had been
partisan fighters or other notable participants of the national liberation
struggle and revolution. Their powers (but also their duties) at the time
were nearly absolute and they only paid lip service to the workers’ coun-
cils (established since the early 1950s) and mostly continued to do so long
into the 1960s when their powers were formally limited. Unlike young
directors of the second generation, who as a rule were more (formally)
educated and sought cooperation with workers’ councils, these ‘partisan’
158
able timeframe.’ He attacked the belief that the essence of socialism lies
in the distribution of goods and not in production, and further resented
a stubborn adherence to the virtues of solidarity and unity at the price of
poverty and shortages.
In the discussion, Kavčič briefly addressed the construction of a rail-
way to connect Koper with the interior. It was a top priority for the Port of
Koper. Kavčič was in favour of the project, claiming the construction was
of national (economic) interest to Slovenia. But above all, Kavčič outlined
how, in the realm of ideas, a part of society, even some communists, were
confused and suffering from stagnation. ‘The struggle between the old
and the new’ is how Kavčič described the process, and by doing so prob-
ably unintentionally repeated the ‘formula’ infamously used by Stalin to
explain away every phenomenon. When asked whether conflicts over in-
come distribution between those who have more and those who have less
were about to emerge, he replied in the affirmative. Kavčič more or less
openly admitted there would be winners and losers. He anticipated all
sorts of conflicts, including between low income workers and those who
were better off thanks to their work performance. But in his view, these
conflicts were not something to be afraid of (AS 1589/IV, t. e. 1664, a. e.
137, fasc. 455, Zapisnik, 17 December 1965).
The strike at the Port of Koper in 1970
Born in 1922, Danilo Petrinja was a typical first generation socialist di-
rector. He started life as a carpenter, participated in the national liber-
ation struggle from 1943 to 1945, was a Party member from 1944, and
performed various political tasks until he was finally appointed direc-
tor of the Water Community of Koper (Vodna skupnost Koper) in 1956,
the company which would shortly undertake construction of the Port of
Koper (Marušič 2010, 190–4). After 1945, in Slovenia as in all Yugoslavia,
factory directors bore a closer resemblance to army commanders (which
many in fact had been) than to normal managers. In fact, many had been
partisan fighters or other notable participants of the national liberation
struggle and revolution. Their powers (but also their duties) at the time
were nearly absolute and they only paid lip service to the workers’ coun-
cils (established since the early 1950s) and mostly continued to do so long
into the 1960s when their powers were formally limited. Unlike young
directors of the second generation, who as a rule were more (formally)
educated and sought cooperation with workers’ councils, these ‘partisan’
158
