By: G. B.
Prime Minister Robert Golob, in an interview with Televizija Slovenija (TVS) last night after parliamentary questions in parliament, stated that he never considered resigning from the prime ministerial position despite speculations. “Moreover, the more it is talked about, the more motivated I am to continue with my work,” he says after a year and a half at the helm of the government. However, he admits that he has made some mistakes during this time, from which he learns.
At the same time, it was impossible to overlook how the “depoliticised” national television helped Robert Golob to continue to maintain his “new clothes of the emperor”. Igor Jurič was asking questions from one location, and Robert Golob was answering from another. It all looked like some kind of collage. If we add to this the body language of TVS journalists, who were evidently very “relaxed”, we had the opportunity to see RTV Slovenia in a new light.
The content of the conversation was summarised by STA as follows:
When leading a country, it is necessary to consider more stakeholders than when leading a company, Golob notes. He added that every successful manager learns from their own mistakes. “I believe that because of this, it will be better in the future, and it will be easier for me too,” he said. Admitting a mistake and correcting it is his motto, he added. Health care remains a priority, assured the prime minister. In the last 30 years, “almost everything possible went wrong with the public health system, especially from a political perspective”, he said. However, this does not mean “that there is a magic wand” or that he is “a magician who will solve it overnight”. From the unsuccessful attempt to address waiting lists, he learned which mistakes should not be repeated in the second attempt, “which is already underway”. Last week, an emergency health law was adopted, which, according to Golob, represents the foundation on which the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (ZZZS) will prepare its work programme for the next two years. Based on this programme, they will then adopt a regulation on the formation of a service programme for compulsory health contributions. “This regulation is the foundation with which we will start directing money in health care towards reducing those waiting lists that are most important to people,” he said.
A major challenge for the government is the post-flood reconstruction of Slovenia. Golob once again asserted that they would follow the expertise in this matter. He understands people who will have to leave their homes but emphasised that it is a matter of life safety. He assured that the government would assist people in moving, both financially and in finding new locations. Regarding the decline in public support for both the government and the Gibanje Svoboda party, he stated that only elections matter. “Polls can be a welcome indicator halfway through how you are doing, but anyone who guides their policy by polls and not the goals they committed to at the beginning of their term, and for which they actually received the support of voters, cannot finish well. I stick to what is written in the coalition agreement,” he said. However, some measures are less popular or less understood until results are shown, he emphasised. This was evident in the idea of restructuring the government to facilitate coordination of departments in post-flood reconstruction. It was a proposal, and I like to share my thoughts with the public; perhaps, in politics, it is not the best received, Golob noted, affirming that he had taken the given lesson to heart.
The government is still not fully staffed; after the dismissal of Agriculture Minister Irena Šinko, the Prime Minister has not yet sent a proposal for a new minister to the National Assembly. The position will be entrusted to Vojko Adamič, and according to Golob, the candidate will be heard in the National Assembly either this or next week. This will only be possible when the Prime Minister sends proposals for his appointment to the head of the agricultural department to the National Assembly.
He described the cooperation with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič, as well as the parliament itself, as fair. He reiterated that he did not demand the resignation of the Speaker of the National Assembly and denied that there were negotiations in the background regarding her dismissal. “Internal dynamics in such a large parliamentary group and party will always happen. Because we are young and new, perhaps this dynamic is more turbulent than in an established party where they have already been through all these processes. We have to go through them live in front of the audience, but that is how it is,” he responded to the expulsion of MP Mojca Šetinc Pašek from the party. Regarding relations with the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, he stated that they have an excellent private relationship, and there is a “delimitation mode of operation” between their offices. He also asserted that he does not resent the appointment of former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar in her office, where, in his opinion, she operates politically. “In what way she operates, everyone should form their own opinion,” he said. Regarding the President’s recent address to the National Assembly, he saw it as well-intentioned criticism that is beneficial. “I recognised many things that were said myself,” he said.
During the President’s address, Golob was attending the EU Council summit, where the leaders of member states were coordinating on the long-term EU budget, including the 50 billion macro-financial assistance to Ukraine over the next four years. This has been opposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has so far prevented the approval of the entire budget. Negotiations will continue in February, and according to Golob, 26 member states are working on an alternative plan on “how to implement the same budget without Hungary”. In Orban’s absence, EU leaders then supported the start of accession negotiations with Kyiv. According to Golob, the initiation of the process has symbolic and transformative power for Ukraine, as it will be required to start implementing reforms.
Before the summit, Golob also met with French President Emmanuel Macron. He stated that when energy was the most important topic in Europe, he forged very important and personal connections with many European leaders. Additionally, negotiations are underway regarding an investment by the French company Renault to start manufacturing electric cars in Slovenia, as reported by the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).