By: Dr Metod Berlec
Thursday’s episode of Tarča on national television, based on prosecutorial findings, exposed several facts the Slovenian public has long suspected: according to investigators, the notorious Zoran Janković is not merely the mayor of Ljubljana, but the central protagonist of a corruption‑clientelist network that, through donations, envelopes of cash, and luxury holidays, opens doors for investors to obtain construction and administrative permits.
The prosecution is unequivocal: numerous questionable deals took place right in the mayor’s office at the Magistrat, meaning that the heart of Ljubljana’s authority has become the epicentre of systemic corruption, from Bellevue Living in Šiška to the controversial C0 canal. The involvement of officials at the Ljubljana Administrative Unit confirms that the network reaches deep into the structures of public administration. It is a systematic exploitation of public functions for private gain, as is evident from the extensive request for a judicial investigation, which our magazine has already reported on.
But the peak of cynicism came the day after the revelations. Instead of withdrawing from public view, Janković and his political ally, Prime Minister Robert Golob (they regularly meet in a well‑known Ljubljana bar owned by the main dealer in the infamous police‑prosecutorial‑judicial case Balkanski bojevnik), appeared shamelessly at a party for employees of the Ljubljana municipality and the city holding. Amid standing ovations, they boasted about the Christmas bonus, as if they were masters of public money – money that the holding, this centrally planned fiefdom of the Janković family, has been siphoning from the pockets of Ljubljana residents for years. The picture is clear: the Janković–Golob alliance is not merely an ideological‑political partnership, but a solid bond of corruption‑clientelist interests. And when the prime minister, in the manner of a barroom drunk, brags that he “gave people a Christmas bonus,” it is nothing but a grotesque backdrop to the reality in which the public holding operates as a siphon of public funds. The applause of those gathered reveals something even worse: that part of the public believes the illusion that Golob personally hands out money, while under his government taxpayers are being systematically squeezed.
And as if that were not enough, dominant media have once again begun pumping up Golob: from RTVS and POP TV to polling agencies. Post‑communist networks led by the last party chief, Milan Kučan, are once again betting on Golob, especially now that Vladimir Prebilič has rejected them, refusing to align with the SD party and instead choosing to run independently with his Preporod as an “untainted new face,” uncontaminated by old structures. But this rejection reveals the essence: the post‑communist, yuppie, Balkan‑mafia conglomerate that has captured Slovenia cannot tolerate independent players. It needs loyal figures who will maintain the status quo, protect fiefdoms like the Ljubljana holding, and smile as they tell people they “gave them a Christmas bonus,” while in reality taking away their future.
