By: Domen Mezeg (Nova24tv.si)
Journalist from the Prava portal, Luka Perš, revealed incriminating documents on the X network about Dominika Švarc Pipan, obtained from confidential sources. Everything indicates that the minister’s pretence regarding the purchase of the judicial building is just a show for the public, and that she was well aware of the matter all along. She was the one who made the most effort for it. Therefore, all the blame-shifting onto lower officials in the ministry is just a smokescreen. Or, as cynically stated by Janez Janša: “A fish rots from the head down.”
They are trying to portray Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan as a victim of dark forces controlling the Social Democrats party. They want to present her as some kind of “whistle-blower” who, in good faith, may have made a mistake by agreeing to the purchase of the judicial building, but is, in reality, kind-hearted and wishes no harm to anyone. The entire farce around her self-examination or investigation and the offer of resignation she gave to Prime Minister Robert Golob are apparently connected to buying time for the Gibanje Svoboda party.
Golob benefits from the affair in the SD
She is somewhat relieved of the pressure, and Golob will accept her offer whenever he feels like it. All the scandals related to the Svoboda (Star Solar, the purchase of computers by Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh) are temporarily forgotten due to the infamous judicial building, and the SD is seriously at risk of following the miserable fate of LDS in the next parliamentary elections when the building on Dimičeva Street was in play. Svoboda has an excellent opportunity to recover somewhat after the decline in public support, at the expense of their coalition partner, while Golob buys some more time for manoeuvring in the energy sector.
From the attached documents (a confidential source’s report), it is evident that the dismissed Secretary-General at the Ministry of Justice, Uroš Gojkovič, informed the minister and all those present at the meeting on October 5th, 2023, about the conclusions of the informative public call for the purchase of business premises in Ljubljana. The best offer selected was from the company Rezidence Rajski vrt, Ltd., for a business property at Litijska Street 51. This offer was deemed the only one meeting all the requirements. Gojkovič simultaneously informed the minister that there were insufficient funds in the budget for the purchase.
She responded that she would do everything in her power to obtain the necessary funds, emphasising that it was a budgetary trifle. She stressed that new judicial buildings would not be constructed. At the same time, she specifically pointed out that she would also involve Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič and Prime Minister Golob in the matter to secure the funds. She instructed Gojkovič to check if any other funds were available and to explore the possibility of financing through leasing.
She ordered Gojkovič to immediately conduct appraisals of the land within the ministry’s administration, including on Povšetova Street, where the Ljubljana prisons are located, and to bring the appraisals to the table within one week so that she could promptly contact Boštjančič to negotiate the next steps. Gojkovič responded that it was not possible to complete appraisals within one week because the entire public procurement process had to be carried out. She instructed him to do everything to expedite the matter so that it would not become the subject of interest for other ministries or Mayor Zoran Janković.