The controversial purchase of a new court building by the Minister of Justice has also sparked a public debate regarding the Social Democrats party’s real estate empire. The party has recently moved into new luxury premises in the centre of Ljubljana, where it is supposed to have a kind of “co-decision room”.
Real estate of the Social Democrats party (Socialni demokrati – SD) has often been the subject of journalistic articles in the past. Many have wondered how the Social Democrats can afford new premises for their secretariat when, according to the latest figures, they were up to their necks in debt. The Moskovič Villa, where they operated until last December, was also the subject of frequent articles, as it was not entirely clear how they had come to own it. Today, the villa is home to the 1st of May Institute (Inštitut 1. maj), whose founders are the recently resigned Secretary-General of the party in question, Klemen Žibert, party President Tanja Fajon, and Jan Škoberne. According to publicly available data found on the Bizi.si website, the 1st of May Institute does not have any employees.
Not much has been written about the party’s real estate portfolio, although it is extensive, and even a real estate agency would be happy to have one like it. According to the data available on Gvin.si, the party owns 14 properties in nine different locations with a total area of 1841 square metres. These properties include the Moskovič Villa at Levstikova Street 15 and premises in Maistrova Street in Maribor, Maister Square in Kranj, as well as premises in the Koroška region, Primorska region, and elsewhere. The party also owns two plots of land with a total area of almost 1000 square metres. We also stumbled upon a great coincidence in Velenje, where the premises of the local SD party committee and the District Court are registered at the same address – Prešernova Street 1.
Communist legacy
As we wrote back in 2021, the Social Democrats “inherited” a number of properties from their communist ancestors, or later from the Communist Party of Slovenia – the Party of Democratic Renewal (ZKS-SDP), whose legal successors are the Social Democrats. In 2021, the Social Democrats still owned 16 properties with a total surface area of 1,909 square metres.
All the other parties formed during and after Slovenia gained its independence had to buy or lease their properties. The Social Democrats, who occasionally remind everyone of their break with their authoritarian heritage, got them virtually for free. The party signed up as owner to properties that had been part of the social property under the previous system.
How much did they pay for the new premises?
Last December, we sent press questions to the Social Democrats’ headquarters, asking for details of their move to new premises in the centre of Ljubljana. Despite several requests, we have not received a reply to date.
Ž. K.
