One year before the elections to the national assembly, the mainstream media have also entered the pre-election race. Due to the unpopularity of the Golob government, they are apparently preparing the ground for a new “new face”. Namely, they are doing this by suddenly “discovering” an affair involving Golob. There have been plenty of these in the past, but until now, the media outlet 24ur preferred to act as a government press service.
This time, however, 24ur reports that the Prime Minister holidayed for free in accommodation in Karigador, Croatia, owned by the Slovenian-Czech businessman Tomaž Subotič. This is the same Subotič who was appointed by the government in 2022 as a member and then as chairman of the board of the Celje General Hospital.
A similar manoeuvre was carried out at the Ljubljana Psychiatric Clinic, where he was also appointed first as a member of the institution’s council and then as its chairman in 2023. Subotič’s appointment to the board of the Celje hospital also brought the well-known lawyer Nina Zidar Klemenčič into the story, and is also directly linked to the appointment of the new director of the hospital, Dragan Kovačič, whom she had represented in the infamous “vascular stents” case in the past. Kovačič did not end up among those indicted.
Did the trio exploit hospital finances?
24ur reports that the trio were involved in a potential exploitation of the finances of the hospital in Celje for private purposes. Subotič, the chairman of the hospital’s board, makes no secret of his vast wealth. He allegedly asked Kovačič for an opinion in a legal case concerning his private company, which Kovačič forwarded to Zidar Klemenčič, who then took on the task of preparing the legal opinion. The media subsequently wondered whether the bill for the prepared legal opinion was paid by the hospital and whether it was a reward from Kovačič to Subotič in exchange for his support in the bid for the director’s position. The legal opinion is said to have cost 2,400 euros. Zidar Klemenčič has responded to the claims, saying that the services provided were related to the hospital, and this is also what the hospital claimed this morning.
Golob’s free holiday in exchange for a position?
And how is Prime Minister Robert Golob connected to the whole story? Zidar Klemenčič also started representing Subotič in transactions completely unrelated to the hospital, namely in the purchase of an apartment in the luxury Schellenburg residence and in proceedings before the Securities Market Agency.
At the time, Golob was holidaying in Croatia, in accommodation owned by Subotič. The Prime Minister’s holiday with Subotič was organised and arranged by Pina Weisseisen, an employee of the Prime Minister’s Office. She is said to be a long-time friend of Tina Gaber, the Prime Minister’s partner. According to media reports, the Prime Minister’s Office refuses to disclose whether Weisseisen used her annual leave for the holiday, nor does it want to show receipts to prove that she paid for the accommodation.
“Tomaž, we had a fantastic time. We would love to come again. We really need to talk about this. Do you have a cleaning lady we can call when we go? I’ll take the keys, just so I know how to leave the house. Thank you again,” said Golob, thanking Subotič.
However, receiving gifts in exchange for a position is explicitly forbidden by the letter of the law. As is written on the website of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK), “In accordance with Article 30 of the Integrity and Prevention of Corruption Act (ZIntPK), an official may not accept gifts or other benefits in connection with the performance of his or her official duties or public service, or in connection with his or her position. Gifts in connection with the performance of an official’s duties or public office or in connection with his or her position may not be accepted by members of the official’s family either.”
However, just a few days after Golob’s visit, Subotič was appointed head of the Ljubljana Psychiatric Clinic. The day before his appointment, Subotič reportedly received the following message: “Mr Subotič, hello! The Prime Minister would like to see you. Do you have time tomorrow, on Thursday at 4:10 p.m.? Thank you. Kind regards.” The government said that the appointment was made at the suggestion of the then-Health Minister Danijel Bešič Loredan, but the latter has distanced himself from this, saying that the appointment was made at the suggestion of the government, reports 24ur.
The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has launched a so-called preliminary examination in connection with the developments described above. Exactly what the Commission will find is a matter of speculation. Judging by the way in which the potentially illegal appointment of Senad Jušić to the post of Director of the Police was handled, it is probably likely that they will only reach their conclusions after it is all over – when the question of whether Golob received illegal gifts will no longer have political implications.
“Šumi will surely say that there is no causal link between Golob’s holiday in Subotič’s holiday house in Karigador and his 2x position as chairman of the board of two public health institutions. But something else is interesting; how can the Prime Minister be on holiday between Tuesday and Sunday (the 27th of June and the 2nd of July 2023), when the whole government is not even on holiday at that time (that happens between the 1st of August and the 15th of August)?” MP Dejan Kaloh commented on the case.
The fact that the 24ur piece is part of the pre-election campaign, which is paving the way for a new face, is also evidenced by the fact that the media outlet was once again unable to produce a piece that did not also include the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) and its President Janez Janša. The latter has already responded to their false claims, writing on X: “Hey, POP TV and 24ur, you’re manipulating to the point of frustration again. Robert Golob was the Prime Minister in 2023. 1. In 2003, Janez Janša was not the Prime Minister, but was deep in the opposition.
He did not do any favours to anyone. 2. The same is true for 2016, namely, we were deep in the opposition when the picture from that yacht ride was taken. 3. The bills for Villa Zlatorog were paid on commercial terms. Otherwise, an indictment would have been filed long ago. I really wonder if you are able to correct the manipulative reporting once and for all.”
Will Golob resign if corruption is found?
However, since we are in pre-election times and the proverbial “godfathers from the background” are more than obviously preparing the ground for the new face, it could well happen that the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption launches its findings in the heat of the pre-election campaign, thus further paving the way for the new political face.
Je danes čas za reciklažo tega posnetka? 😉 pic.twitter.com/Lm9Et2lzew
— SDS (@strankaSDS) April 13, 2025
And by the way, Golob clearly announced during the previous election campaign that he would resign if found in breach of the Integrity Act. Subotič has already resigned as chairman of the board of the Celje hospital. Will Golob soon eat his words?
This is how 24ur found out about the personal communication between Golob and Subotič
A separate question that arises in light of the above is how 24ur found out about the personal communication between Prime Minister Robert Golob and businessman Tomaž Subotič. It seems unbelievable, but according to the media outlet Preiskovalno (Investigative), this communication was passed on to them by Subotič’s former partner, Jana Pleša, who had been collecting incriminating information about Subotič. The story has an additional twist, however, because according to the media outlet, Pleša is now the partner of Reporter journalist Igor Kršinar. Although he denied any involvement in the case in a response to Bojan Požar, he was put on the spot by an e-mail in which Kršinar writes: “Great! You go ahead and collect, and we’ll hit if you get screwed over in the division of property.”
Ž. K.
