“It is okay to be confident, but you have to have a realistic basis for it,” wrote Tomaž Smole, Vice-Mayor of the Municipality of Ivančna Gorica. On Facebook, he pointed out that after 14 years of decline, Kočevje still ranks 187th in the municipality development coefficient, which shows the gap between the public image of Vladimir Prebilič, the former long-time Mayor of Kočevje, and the actual results of his mayoralty.
It should be noted that before leaving for Brussels, former Kočevje mayor Vladimir Prebilič told a mainstream media outlet that he was satisfied with the job he had done in his municipality, but Tomaž Smole said that “self-praise in times of rhetoric is not enough.”
The municipality development coefficient is a composite indicator that assesses the level of economic, social and infrastructural development relative to the national average, based on factors such as per capita income, unemployment, population density, infrastructure, education and economic activity, and guides regional policy and resource allocation. Less developed municipalities therefore receive higher co-financing for investment.
During Prebilič’s mayoralty (2010-2024), the coefficient ranged between 0.91 (2009-2010) and 0.86 (2024-2025), with the lowest ranking of 0.82 (2018-2019), which ensured 100 percent co-financing from the state budget. This places Kočevje among the less developed municipalities, as the national average coefficient is 1.00, and the population has decreased by more than 1,000 inhabitants, indicating an outflow of population, possibly due to a lack of economic opportunities or dissatisfaction with the local leadership.
“Save this performance by Robert Golob No. 2. It is no wonder that, after four terms under Mr Prebilič’s leadership, the Municipality of Kočevje is exactly where it was when it started: 187th out of 212 municipalities in Slovenia. The number of inhabitants, however, has fallen by more than 1,000 in four mandates. It is amazing what Murgle and the mainstream media are able to sell as a success and even a new hope for the far left,” commented the President of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), Janez Janša, on the low development coefficient on X.
Compared to municipalities such as Komenda, where the coefficient has risen from 1.17 to 1.34, and Log-Dragomer, which maintains a stable coefficient of around 1.07, Kočevje has not made any noticeable progress, as its coefficient has remained below 1 since 2013, indicating a development lag (e.g. 0.85 in 2015 or 0.86 in 2024-2025).
Criticism of Prebilič’s leadership, however, goes beyond statistics. The controversial purchase of a Peugeot DS 9 company car for 65,000 euros, which exceeds the municipal rules limiting the price to 30,000 euros, undermines his image as a thrifty
leader. He recently announced the creation of his own political party, to be presented on the 18th of October 2025, and he is reportedly still waiting for Milan Kučan‘s “licence”, although the latter has not publicly shown his support for Prebilič yet.
Although Prebilič enjoys a good reputation for his academic achievements and a long mayoralty, the facts show that Kočevje has not made the expected development progress under his leadership. While some media outlets highlight his merits, criticism – backed up by official data and public opinion – reveals that his performance was not at a high enough level to warrant praise.
A. H.
