By: Moja Dolenjska
After much speculation about his potential political engagement ahead of the next parliamentary elections, Vladimir Prebilič announced today that he will enter the race with a newly established party. The party’s congress is scheduled for October 18th, when its programme and team are expected to be officially presented. Reactions to Prebilič’s announcement have been highly sceptical. And it appears that even Prebilič himself is not fully convinced by what he is undertaking.
Tomaž Celestina, a longtime journalist at Radio Slovenija, commented on the matter, saying: “I am following Prebilič’s announcement of entering politics. For the first time, truly the first time, I sense that someone entering the left-wing political sphere is being met with doubt and quite a few follow-up questions.”
Vladimir Prebilič was a longtime member of the SD party. He later left the party in protest, reportedly because the SD headquarters supported Janko Veber for Minister of Defence instead of him. He then ran independently in local mayoral elections and was elected to the European Parliament on the Vesna – Green Party list.
Meanwhile, the municipality of Kočevje recently debated Prebilič’s controversial purchase of a luxury Peugeot DS 9 during his term as mayor. The car was bought in violation of procurement rules for official vehicles, costing the municipality €65,000. Less than two years later, the municipality is selling it for half the price, as maintenance costs after the warranty expired proved too high.