If the recalled Ambassador Kajzer leaves the USA with his head held high, it will be difficult for President Pahor to do the same

“What is happening in our homeland? Mr. Kajzer, for us Slovenians in the USA, you will remain one of the best ambassadors, I wish you all the best in the future,” read one of the many heartfelt comments on the news that Tone Kajzer was recalled as the ambassador of Slovenia in the USA – President Borut Pahor namely signed the order on his recall. “By drawing attention to the blind and obedient behaviour of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘at the suggestion of the competent ministry’, Ambassador Kajzer essentially did something useful for the country,” said Dr Dimitrij Rupel, who sent a letter to Pahor a few days ago and explained to him, among other things, that it was not even a real diplomatic dispatch, and in addition, first the interior and then the foreign ministers acted in violation of the constitution and laws of the Republic of Slovenia. But Pahor decided “differently” in the end.

“Dear friends. All people of good will. I learned from the website of our Mr. President of Slovenia that I have been recalled as the ambassador of Slovenia in the USA. I would like to thank each and every one of you, and especially my colleagues at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Washington, for all their support and help in the development of the Slovenian American friendship and alliance, which should grow and develop. I am leaving with my head held high. I believe and always act in accordance with the democratic values that we Slovenians confirmed when deciding for independence and sovereignty. As a career diplomat, I have always and will always advocate for the welfare of Slovenia and for the strengthening of our democracy, trust, and cooperation between us. This is how I will continue to act, wherever the loving God will show me the way forward. Thank you,” wrote Tone Kajzer on Facebook.

The President’s office announced yesterday evening that the President of the Republic, Borut Pahor, decided to sign the order recalling the ambassador in the USA Tone Kajzer. He made this decision after a preliminary telephone conversation with Prime Minister Robert Golob. At the same time, he is said to have expressed his displeasure because he was not consulted about the decision beforehand. Some people did not expect this move by Pahor – he could leave the matter to his successor – but of course he could also refuse the recall. On the inadmissibility of recalling Kajzer, Pahor was also warned by the long-time head of Slovenian diplomacy, Dr Dimitrij Rupel, but Pahor still followed the plans of his former party colleague Tanja Fajon, who said that the recall of Kajzer was necessary. Apparently, Pahor is not that much of an independent president either.

Pahor suggested both Golob and Fajon to “consider additional measures and actions, how to strengthen the professionalism of diplomacy, so that it is loyal to the state, but not to party and other partial interests”, was said in the press release. Let us remind you that the government recalled Ambassador Tone Kajzer because he allegedly passed on the content of a diplomatic “message” to the president of the SDS party Janez Janša, which concerned the request of the presidential candidate Nataša Pirc Musar that her candidacy be published in a prominent place in the embassy to collect signatures for support. According to the ministry, this kind of practice regarding publications is something common, the “message” was not marked with any level of secrecy – therefore it is actually unusual that the disclosure of this type of content receives such consequences. Unless someone needs a vacant ambassador post in the US. When asked whether Kajzer confessed to the act, Minister Fajon replied that the ambassador did not talk about it during the conversation. While he may not have recorded the message himself and forwarded it, he allowed someone to use his computer and address, she added – so on top of that, he was recalled without any proof.

The interior and then the foreign ministers acted contrary to the constitution and laws of the Republic of Slovenia; Kajzer did a useful deed for the country

“The current ambassador in Washington did not even for a moment threaten the security of the Slovenian messaging system or diplomatic communications, as there was absolutely nothing new in the message compared to the letter from the Ministry of the Interior on August 30^th. This message was actually not a diplomatic message at all, but merely a verbatim summary of a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had been circulating throughout the Ljubljana ministries, all Slovenian administrative units, and other public institutions for weeks before that,” the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Dimitrij Rupel wrote in a letter to the country’s president, Borut Pahor. Rupel also explained, among other things, that by drawing attention to the blind and obedient behaviour of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “at the suggestion of the competent ministry”, Kajzer essentially did something useful for the country. Publishing an address to gather support for one of the candidates in all possible “visible places” of state and public institutions, even hospitals, according to Rupel, means illegal and unconstitutional interference by state and public institutions in the electoral system, i.e., interference in election procedures. The ambassador drew attention to this unconstitutionality or illegality. The Minister of the Interior and then the Minister of Foreign Affairs acted in violation of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Slovenia, Rupel emphasised.

Sara Bertoncelj

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