By: Peter Jančič
“I believe that you fully stand behind this and also take full responsibility for its potential constitutional legality.”
Former leader of the LDS party and the National Assembly, Jožef Školč, exerted pressure this week on the President of the National Council, Marko Lotrič, to prevent an investigation into why Robert Golob, from GEN-I, secretly transferred 103,000 euros to the company of the then journalist of the state-owned Siol.net, Vesna Vuković. The investigation aims to explore Golob’s business dealings with the state regarding Star Solar and whether he financed his election campaign with significant transfers from GEN-I to the Balkans.
Hypocrites, who add additional drag to state services, are the trademark of the government. The largest are Robert Golob and Vesna Vuković.
Golob himself has demonstrated that investigating his business affairs is not welcomed by orchestrating rapid changes in the entire police leadership and conducting purges. However, in the National Assembly, NSi party led by Matej Tonin has been unwilling to provide the three missing signatures needed by twenty-seven SDS party members to initiate an investigation into Golob. After the elections, NSi promptly secured leadership positions in both supervisory commissions – one overseeing public finances and the other overseeing intelligence services – despite not winning those positions based on the election results. The ruling coalition determines who oversees them from the opposition, potentially undermining the effectiveness of any serious oversight.
In politics, the true motives were revealed in the TV show Tarča by Erika Žnidaršič, who earns a higher salary than the CEO of RTVS (Slovenian public broadcaster), Zvezdan Martič. This was demonstrated by the government-critical cycling activist Jaša Jenull, who presented examples of doctors earning a significant income through additional work. Jenull aimed to discredit Fides and doctors who did not participate in strikes for the highest earnings, implying wrongdoing on their part. Školč is particularly adept at such tactics. The Fides strike primarily concerns doctors with significantly lower salaries. Where judges and prosecutors are involved, who also demand more and whom Golob intends to give more to. He has already attempted to do so. The Constitutional Court is also advocating for higher salaries for judges. Why should doctors be considered less valuable than prosecutors and judges? Jenull was partially directed to reality by Erik Brecelj, the head of Golob’s health council, who asked when their colleague Dušan Keber had opened his sole proprietorship. Jenull took offense, deeming it a personal and tavern discussion. However, Brecelj revealed too little. The directors of major medical institutions, appointed through a series of premature changes by Golob’s government, decide on additional work and earnings. The state insurance company, fully controlled by the authorities, determines payments. The government also establishes the rules. No Fides. No doctors. The problem, when it comes to the misuse of public funds, lies with the government, which Jenull helped bring to power and supposedly “rescued” by pointing fingers at Fides and doctors on Tarča. Just in case, Žnidaršič did not invite anyone from the opposition SDS and NSI to the cameras, as they could have pointed out the manipulations. Tarča was more balanced in the previous mandate when they dared to invite and present opposition views, not just those of the ruling coalition and their cycling subcontractors.
Similar subcontractors, but of much larger scale than Jenull, were present in the National Council this week – Školč and former Interior Minister and General Secretary of the LDS government, Mirko Bandelj. Bandelj’s law firm, on behalf of the leadership of GEN-I, appointed by Golob, strongly protested the possibility of parliament investigating the company’s dealings during Golob’s tenure, who was once an official in the LDS government. They protested against the investigation of significant payments to the hypocrite Vesna Vuković, then a journalist and now the General Secretary of Svoboda, who received more than those targeted by Jenull in Tarča. Golob’s GEN-I secretly (under the table) transferred 103,000 euros to her parallel company SEEM M. & C, according to a contract signed on July 22nd, 2019, with several subsequent annexes. The company was also funded by the current Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič, who, through his advisory centre Brio, transferred 34,000 euros, 60,000 euros from Gorenje, and an additional 73,000 euros from Adventure Investments. In total, 270,000 euros, more than a quarter of a million euros. The company was eventually liquidated by the editor of Necenzurirano, Primož Cirman, revealing additional background, in case anyone had doubts.
An even larger hypocrite is, of course, Robert Golob himself. While leading the state electricity trader GEN-I, where he received over a million euros more than the law allowed directors of state-owned companies during his four-year tenure, he had already relinquished several million euros in additional bonuses as the head of the government. Simultaneously, he engaged in parallel business with his private company dealing with solar power plants – Star Solar. Compared to Golob, even the highest-paid doctors are complete amateurs, making Jenull’s opposition to Školč seem minor in comparison.
They declare a problem with councillors supposedly violating the constitution if they advocate for an investigation into Golob’s private business and the general secretary of his party. This happens at a time when the ruling party in parliament is vigorously investigating completely private media companies, such as Nova24TV, Demokracija, Bojan Požar, and similar entities that do not sell more than ninety percent of electricity from the state nuclear power plant and have never been in state ownership. In contrast, GEN-I, or the state-owned Siol.net, where, just five years ago, they had a contract for their private company Necenzurirano. The media’s sin, being investigated by parliamentary journalist Tomaž Modic from Necenzurirano, is that they align with the opposition SDS. It is as if we are back in the previous system, where the government persecuted the opposition and media that were not subservient to the only allowed party, led by Milan Kučan before the collapse of the dictatorship. As a journalist, Modic, a hypocrite in the National Assembly, has received 27,999 euros to support Svoboda in the persecution of media sympathetic to the opposition through his sole proprietorship.
However, Golob’s, Školč’s, and Bandelj’s pressure was not the reason the lectern broke twice in the National Council. Craftsmen poorly executed it during the hall’s renovation; it should have withstood the councillors’ pressure. Experienced Školč, however, played the politicians from the right during the lectern’s disintegration. Notably, young councillor from SDS, Andrej Poglajen, and Mayor of Sveta Trojica, David Klobasa from NSi, both mistakenly voted for Školč’s proposal to test who had the majority, contributing to Školč winning the first half. Just like Svoboda’s parliamentary members made a mistake and further embarrassed themselves last year with incorrect voting due to cosmic rain without conducting any tests.
Experience is crucial in politics.
In the first half, Školč also benefited from a letter from the law firm of Mirko Bandelj, representing GEN-I CEO Maks Helbl, whose spouse is the General Secretary of the current government – all experienced political professionals. However, the political confrontation is not over, and the outcome is far from certain. If the National Council approves the investigation into Golob’s business, it will be a significant surprise, and there will likely be intense pressure on the members of parliament immediately afterward.
More severe than Jenull’s opposition to most doctors who diligently perform their jobs for exceptionally low pay and contribute to our health and lives for nothing.
They will do everything to avoid monitoring and investigating Robert Golob and Vesna Vuković. To keep their eyes closed. Only they can scrutinise others.