By: Dr Matevž Tomšič
Karma is a cruel thing. Or, as the Slovenian proverb says: “Everything comes back, everything must be paid for.” The carelessness and arrogance of those who governed us until this year are now returning to them like a boomerang. For four years they behaved as though no one could touch them, as though they could do virtually anything they pleased without suffering any consequences. Even after the election, they were convinced they would continue their revelry in power. But things did not go according to plan. Now, not only can they no longer enjoy the pleasures of governing, but the bills for past actions are beginning to come due.
Dark clouds are gathering over those who once occupied the highest positions of power. The first to come under pressure was former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs, Luka Mesec, and, to a lesser extent, his party colleague and former Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko. They were implicated by none other than the controversial cultural figure Dušan Smodej, the central figure in the Fotopub affair, against whom an indictment has been filed on charges of sexual assault and abuse. Smodej has now retracted his earlier statements in which he claimed not to know them. Both politicians had likewise asserted that they had no connection with him. According to Smodej’s latest claims, however, that was not the case. He alleges that he and Mesec were particularly close companions, so close, in fact, that they used cocaine together. Mesec, of course, denied the accusation and even underwent a drug test. The result was negative, but the test was based on a urine sample, which can generally detect substances only for a matter of days. As a result, it says nothing about any possible drug use further in the past.
The political left responded as one might expect, rallying to the defence of its political representative. Claims about Mesec’s alleged drug use were dismissed as a political conspiracy, with Smodej supposedly becoming “the new hero of the right.” What an extraordinary exercise in hypocrisy. Smodej was an integral part of that very same scene. His events, which he himself says involved large-scale consumption of alcohol and drugs, were attended by numerous left-wing cultural figures, activists, and politicians. He was a darling of those circles, at least until his alleged misconduct came to light. Relying on his strong connections within the political left, which was then in power, Smodej apparently expected his political friends to protect him if he denied knowing them. Now that criminal proceedings have been launched against him and he faces a trial, he allegedly feels betrayed and has decided to speak out. The question is whether he has revealed everything he knows. In short, the political right has nothing to do with this (although it is trying to capitalise on it politically, and who would not?), but rather it is a settling of scores within the left-wing camp itself.
Meanwhile, Mesec’s former boss, former Prime Minister Robert Golob, also continues to face difficulties connected to the energy company Gen-I, which he once headed. Romanian authorities recently arrested his friend and former associate Gregor Hudohmet, director of the subsidiary Gen-I Sonce, on suspicion of accepting bribes. This places the story of Golob’s alleged Romanian bank account in a different light. From the beginning, the explanation involving a “stolen identity” was difficult to believe, and now, it appears virtually impossible. Any further investigation could prove highly uncomfortable for Golob, especially since the new management of his former company has announced full cooperation with Romanian prosecutors. Unlike the previous management, it has no reason to shield him. If it were shown that Hudohmet acted in coordination with Golob, Golob’s political career would very likely be over.
We can see how quickly things can turn around. Let us remember how casually the leading politicians of the previous governing coalition accused their political opponents of all manner of wrongdoing. How Robert Golob and his allies accused Janez Janša of nothing less than high treason in connection with the Black Cube affair and did so without serious evidence. Now that allegations are being directed at them, however, they evade them or even portray them as part of a conspiracy against themselves.
