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In 2013, Nestle's then-CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe drew the ire of many
when he declared that water is not a human right, but a market commodity. Nestle, the world's largest food company, has been
a leader among corporations involved in the privatization of water, often
outbidding communities for the right to manage their own water supplies. Though Brabeck-Letmathe's sentiments are shared by several Western governments, the country of Slovenia has stood up to corporate greed and
has enshrined access to clean drinking water as a human right guaranteed by the nation's constitution. Slovenia's 90-seat parliament voted 64 in favor and 0 against to add an article to its constitution which states that "everyone has the right to drinkable water." The article also rejects the idea that water is a market commodity
, instead declaring that "
water resources represent a public good that is managed by the state. The Slovenian Democratic Party, who oppose the current ruling party, chose to abstain from voting, saying that amending the constitution was unnecessary and aimed at boosting the ruling party's popularity.
Though many Americans are most familiar with Slovenia as the birthplace of soon-to-be First Lady Melania Trump, the mountainous nation in Eastern Europe is
home to abundant fresh water resources with more than half of its territory covered in native forest. Earlier this year, Slovenia was also declared the world's most green destination and its capital, Ljubljana, was named the greenest European capital city.
Comment: The office of the first lady need not be a total farce, and while the author stated that the seeds of the article began with the thought that Killary would be elected, she wasn't and Willie isn't the first man. While many will have to wait and see how she will take on her role of first lady, one thing is for sure: it'll be an improvement from the 1992 first lady! Here's an example of an exemplary first lady, Asma al-Assad, that Melania might look to for inspiration: