By: M.B.
Former prominent member of the Gibanje Svoboda party, Marta Kos, confirmed to the online portal N1 that she has given Prime Minister Robert Golob her consent to run for the position of European Commissioner. The government is set to discuss her candidacy this morning. More details to follow.
According to N1, Prime Minister Golob offered the position of European Commissioner to Marta Kos after the forced resignation of Tomaž Vesel, but it was not clear until the end of the week whether she would accept the candidacy. Apparently, she has now agreed.
It should be noted that Golob had previously sidelined the former vice president of the Gibanje Svoboda party before the presidential elections. Now, he has had to humble himself and ask her to run for the commissioner’s position. With this, he will send someone to Brussels (the sister of the notorious Kučan operative Drago Kos) who is closer to Milan Kučan than to Golob himself. A double fiasco for Golob personally!
Let’s recall that rumours began circulating in the dominant media that Prime Minister Golob wanted the former Slovenian ambassador to Germany and Switzerland for the commissioner’s post after Tomaž Vesel was forced to withdraw his candidacy last Friday. Golob reportedly mentioned her name during a Friday meeting where he informed coalition partners of Vesel’s resignation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week highlighted that experience in high political or executive positions, such as prime minister, minister, and deputy minister, or at least in high diplomatic roles or senior positions within an EU institution, would be a key competency for members of the European Commission. Additionally, von der Leyen is said to prefer a female candidate.
Marta Kos has not held high political office, although she was previously Slovenia’s ambassador to Germany and Switzerland, which is undoubtedly insufficient for a commissioner position. Most of the current candidates for European Commissioner have significantly more political experience.
Thus, the Slovenian commissioner story is back at the beginning, but this time the government is under significant time pressure. It will have to wait for the commissioner’s candidate to be presented to the parliamentary committee on European Affairs, chaired by SDS MP Franc Breznik.
While the committee’s opinion is not binding for the government, it is necessary if they want to send the name to Brussels. The candidate will also have to meet with Ursula von der Leyen. It remains unknown whether the government’s choice will satisfy the European Commission President to the extent that Slovenia will now be granted the enlargement portfolio. Unofficial information suggests that this portfolio will be weakened and will only deal with the Western Balkans.
With Vesel’s withdrawal from the candidacy, the ruling coalition has shown a weak political stance both domestically and in the eyes of Europe. Just a week ago, the ruling coalition unitedly defended Vesel’s candidacy for commissioner, repeatedly emphasising during the selection process, which was outlined by Prime Minister Golob back in April, that the choice of the European Commissioner candidate was solely in Slovenia’s hands, as assessed by Nataša Mulec for Radio Slovenia.
SDS President Janez Janša responded to our report on the X network, stating:
“The state of democracy in Slovenia:
- @strankaSDS is the undisputed winner of the elections in the @EUparliament. We have 4 MPs in the EP, while the entire coalition of the @vladaRS (Slovenian government) has only 3.
- Despite this, no one from the government has consulted with us about the proposal for the Slovenian member of the @EuropeanCommiss (European Commission). Which will be their own…”
