Prime Minister Golob’s company Star Solar, an electricity generation company based in Nova Gorica, whose operations have recently come under scrutiny, has been given new management. Maksimiljana Polak, who until recently served as Golob’s State Secretary, has been promoted to the post of Director.
Maksimiljana Polak was dismissed by the government from her post as State Secretary for Civil Society Dialogue and Coordination of Citizens’ Initiatives in the Prime Minister’s Office not long ago, on the 15th of May. At the time of Polak’s departure, the Prime Minister’s Office said that the departure was due to personal circumstances and that it was amicable. They also made it known that the outgoing Secretary thanked them for the opportunity to work in the Prime Minister’s Office, as reported by the media outlet N1.
As this is not the first departure from the Prime Minister’s inner circle, many probably thought that something was obviously going on. But even as it became clear that Polak was saying goodbye, a source from Golob’s circles told N1 that she was definitely not in the circle of people the prime minister wanted to get rid of. “She is definitely leaving in agreement with the Prime Minister and new assignments have been found for her,” the source stressed, explaining that in their case, they had been close colleagues for a long time.
She was employed by Gen-I
Before taking up the post of State Secretary, Polak worked for the Gen-I energy company, where Golob was President of the Management Board for many years. In 2023, she took over the management of the business administration of the company and the Gen-I Group, where she went on to implement a reorganisation. She also “acted as a coordinator in the preparation and execution of events and participated in the editorial team in the area of internal communication.”
Polak, who was seen at two meetings of the Animal Protection Working Group, where the Prime Minister’s partner was also present, took up the post of Director of Golob’s company Star Solar the day after she was dismissed from her post as State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, on the 16th of May. She herself confirmed the news that she had become the new Director, to the aforementioned media outlet.
Star Solar, an electricity generation company located at 18 Delpinova Street in Nova Gorica, was founded in March 2012, and until the 20th of October 2023, its official owner was Prime Minister’s ex-wife, Jana Nemec Golob, and then on the 20th of October last year, a change of ownership was registered in the database of the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services. Robert Golob then became the sole owner of the company, which generated a revenue of 250 thousand euros last year. When it became public that the company was mainly making money by selling electricity to the state, more specifically to the state-owned company Borzen, the whole situation was suddenly in the spotlight. At the request of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia, a Commission of Inquiry was set up to look into the company’s operations. The commission could have been set up earlier, but the New Slovenia party (Nova Slovenija – NSi) did not want to provide the necessary signatures at the time. Despite the fact that the Commission of Inquiry was set up, many people are critical of the fact that the National Assembly’s Commission for Public Office and Elections proposed that the Commission of Inquiry into the alleged abuses in the business operations of Gen-I and Star Solar and the financing of the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda) should be headed by MP Tomaž Lah of the Freedom Movement.
Last July, Golob’s daughter, Luna Golob, became the company’s legal representative. At the end of last year, she was replaced by Miran Klanjšček, the husband of another Freedom Movement MP, Mirjam Bon Klanjšček. Klanjšček’s powers were terminated on the 15th of May, according to a decision of the district court in Nova Gorica.
Ž. N.
