The transition media have started their engines. The pre-election period is coming, during which they will miraculously discover Golob’s “affairs”. A new face is coming, and the centres of power on the left have given up on Golob. We asked political analyst Aljuš Pertinač for a comment, who believes that with the story recently published by the media outlet 24ur, the centres of power on the transition left are telling Golob that the time of “enjoyment” is irrevocably coming to an end.
The media outlet 24ur recently revealed that the Prime Minister was holidaying – allegedly for free – in an apartment owned by the Slovenian-Czech businessman Tomaž Subotič. Golob was enjoying his stay in Karigador, Croatia, at the very time when Subotič was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Ljubljana Psychiatric Clinic. Subotič had previously also been appointed by the government as Chairman of the Board of the Celje General Hospital.
This clearly raises the suspicion that this was a case of receiving a gift in exchange for being appointed to a position – which is expressly prohibited by law. The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK) has launched a so-called “preliminary examination” into the case, and the Slovenian public is waiting for the results of the examination, which is likely to come at the most politically opportune moment for the tailors of the transitional left.
Picture and parable of Golob’s reign
And what did the communication between Subotič and Golob look like? The latter wrote: “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 leave? I’ll take the keys, just so I know how to leave the house. Thank you again.”
And Subotič replied, “Dear Robi, I’m happy for you … you don’t need to worry about cleaning … take the keys, and we’ll sort out the rest when I see you. Tomaž.”
Pertinač commented that the text message exchange between the Prime Minister and the businessman actually shows the raison d’etre and the main principle of the Golob government. “That’s all he’s been interested in so far, and now this fantastic time is coming to an end, because his mandate is also coming to an end. Now, it is becoming less and less fantastic, and it is also clear in his behaviour and in his gestures. The underlying message of this story is that the only thing he cares about is that he and those around him are “having fun”, and that is also the message of his mandate,” noted Pertinač.
The Prime Minister’s promise and the political reality
It should be noted that during the pre-election campaign, Golob publicly promised to resign if he was found in breach of the Integrity Act (by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption).
However, Pertinač believes that Golob will not resign. According to him, resignation is always the action of an individual, which we have not seen in similar cases. “I don’t think that will happen in this case either. But it shows what I said before. He is interested in enjoying himself at someone else’s expense. A little bit at our expense, and obviously a little bit at Subotič’s expense. If he is paying for this by nominating this gentleman to be chairman of the various councils in the health sector, then this only shows the reputations of both of those involved. If you can get the post of chairman of the board of one of the largest hospitals in Slovenia by lending your holiday accommodation, then we all know ‘what time it is’.”
“This story is obviously a parable of what Robert Golob is and what his rule is like. It is about fulfilling some basic human, not to say simple, motives. The basic ideal is to have a ‘good time’.”
The members of the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda), however, might have very different plans. Given the low public support for the Freedom Movement, we could also see another defection in the style of Tine Novak. Pertinač believes this is possible, but he also pointed out that it is the Freedom Movement MPs who know the Prime Minister’s character best, as they have been working with him for three years. One of the problems with Slovenian politics, especially in terms of the ruling party, he says, is that it is guided by the principle of personal gain.
Media symptom of the Golob “fatwa”
The reporting of the largest media outlet in Slovenia is in itself a symptom of the pre-election period. The media outlet, which has so far “protected” Golob, and at times also acted as a kind of para-press service for the government, has launched an affair that explicitly harms the Prime Minister.
“This is a sign that the centres of power on the transitional left have given up on Golob. This affair would certainly not have been initiated by the biggest commercial television station if this were not the case. In doing so, they are telling him that the days when he had a fantastic time, the days of enjoyment, are over. It is a kind of symbolic message that his mandate is irrevocably coming to an end. Whether there will be early elections this year or regular elections around this time next year, it doesn’t really matter, and he is at the “beginning of the end”,” commented Pertinač.
This, of course, also paves the way for a new face. Pertinač commented, “Of course, the launch of Prebilič and the “newly” discovered Golob affairs clearly show that, as I said before, the power centres of the transitional left have given up on him, at least in the sense of him possibly leading the next government, too. However, if he does not lead the government, there will not really be a Robert Golob, because he can only enjoy it if he is first and if he has absolute power. That is probably why he is buying some holiday properties in Croatia through his company.”
Žiga Korsika
