By: Peter Jančič (Spletni časopis)
The President of the National Council, Marko Lotrič, will not act like the President of the National Assembly, Urška Klakočar Zupančič.
Last year, when, supposedly due to the influence of cosmic rays that damaged the voting devices of the Svoboda MPs Miha Kordiš (Levica) and Mojca Pašek Šetinc (Svoboda), it was possible to achieve the coordination of social transfers with inflation and thereby reject the government’s solution to only coordinate 75%, she ordered a repeat of the vote. Both government MPs found themselves in trouble in their own parties due to inciting rebellion against the government. In the repeated vote, ordered by Klakočar Zupančič, Kordiš and Pašek Šetinc defeated Prime Minister Robert Golob even more than the first time.
The National Council will not repeat the vote due to the incorrect voting of National Council member Andrej Poglajen (SDS) and Mayor of the Municipality of Sveta Trojica David Klobasa (NSi) on Jože Školč’s proposal to discuss whether to demand an investigation into the actions of Robert Golob. This decision, contrary to Klakočar Zupančič’s, was made by Lotrič.
There will be no repeats because Poglajen and Klobasa reported the incorrect voting – whether to postpone the debate on the investigator, why Robert Golob transferred 103,000 euros from GEN-I under the table to the company of then Siol.net journalist Vesna Vuković, how Golob does business with the state through Star Solar, and whether he financed his election campaign with large transfers from GEN-I to the Balkans – too late. Next Monday, when the councillors continue the interrupted session, only introductory presentations of the prime minister’s investigation request are expected. The vote on whether the National Council should demand that the National Assembly also investigate Golob’s actions is not expected before the next regular session of the National Council in mid-March.
Golob’s would abolish the National Council
The outcome of whether there will be a majority for the investigation of the prime minister in a few weeks or not is difficult to predict due to strong pressures from the government side. Already at the possibility that the National Council might demand an investigation, Svoboda MP Lenart Žavbi revived the idea last week that the ruling party should abolish the National Council. At yesterday’s meeting with journalists, National Council President Lotrič, when I asked him whether he understood this as pressure on the National Council before the decision, did not affirmatively answer. However, he did not deny it either.
As I reported, former president of the LDS party, Školč, proposed to postpone the decision-making process so that MPs could examine the letter from the law firm of former Interior Minister and General Secretary of the LDS-led government, Mirko Bandelj. In the letter, Bandelj, on behalf of the leadership of the state-owned company GEN-I, which was appointed by Robert Golob (who was also an LDS official in the government decades ago), strongly opposed the scrutiny of Golob’s past actions. Among other things, with the explanation that it should allegedly involve private businesses, when Golob was secretly transferring money under the table to the company owned by then-journalist of the state-owned SIOL.NET, Vesna Vuković, who is now the General Secretary of the Svoboda party.
According to the contract signed on July 22nd, 2019, with several subsequent annexes, GEN-I transferred 103,000 euros. The company SEEM M. & C was also financed by the current Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič, who, through his advisory centre Brio, transferred 34,000 euros, 60,000 euros from Gorenje, and another 73,000 from Adventure Investments. A total of 270,000 euros. The company was eventually liquidated by the editor of Necenzurirano Primož Cirman, showing that it was not a purely private deal of Vuković.
The full statement from the National Council stating that they will not repeat the vote, as Klakočar Zupančič did, is as follows:
“At the 2nd extraordinary session of the Board of the National Council, members of the board reached an agreement on the continuation of the 14th session of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia, which was convened for February 28th, 2024, and was interrupted during the consideration of the 5th item on the agenda. The item reads as follows: Proposal for a request for the appointment of a parliamentary inquiry to determine and assess the actual state to determine the political responsibility of holders of public functions due to suspicion that they allegedly directly or indirectly influenced uneconomical or unlawful decisions of the company GEN-I, Ltd., which led to the financial exhaustion of the company GEN-I, Ltd., allegedly abused their position, damaged state property, and exerted political pressure on the investigation of criminal offenses related to the takeover and operations of the company STAR SOLAR Ltd., and the operations of the company BORZEN, Ltd., that allegedly there was illegal financing of the political party GIBANJE SVOBODA, the election campaign of the political party GIBANJE SVOBODA for the regular elections of MPs to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia in 2022, and for a possible change in legislation regulating the areas of prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the financing of political parties, the financing of election campaigns, the establishment and ownership-management regulation of media issuers, and the financing of issuing and operating media during election campaigns.
Members of the board were initially informed about the report presented by the Mandate-Immunity Commission at the 2nd extraordinary session (the commission’s report is available at the link https://www.ds-rs.si/sl/dogodki/2-izredna-seja-mandatno-imunitetne-komisije-nadaljevanje), from which it appears that the Mandate-Immunity Commission believes that it is not competent to establish facts related to specific questions and actions at sessions of the National Council. Therefore, it advised the President of the National Council, Marko Lotrič, to consult on the manner of continuing the 14th session with the Board of the National Council. Based on the transcript, the members of the board found that the objection of two National Councillors was not made immediately after the vote on the proposal of the Interest Group of non-economic activities to postpone the discussion and decision-making but only after the session was interrupted.
The Board of the National Council is defined as an advisory body to the President of the National Council in the Rules of Procedure of the National Council, from which it follows that the decision on the continuation of the session must be made by the President of the National Council. Based on the facts and the interpretation of Article 54 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Council provided by the Mandate-Immunity Commission, the President of the National Council assessed that the objection of two National Councillors was not made correctly. Therefore, after consulting with the board of the National Council, he decided not to allow the National Council to vote on the repetition of the vote in the continuation of the 14th regular session.”
