Instead of Prime Minister Robert Golob’s speech to the European Parliament being a statesmanlike one, which could then have been used to promote Slovenia, the Prime Minister chose to focus on his personal story, the story about Slovenia’s internal political affairs, and the people from Slovenia who are “not ours.” Since Golob did not use the European Parliament’s floor to promote our country, MP Anja Bah Žibert, a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), decided to address a written parliamentary question to the government, related to the Prime Minister’s speech.
On Tuesday, the 13th of December, Prime Minister Robert Golob addressed the MEPs in the European Parliament, focusing on topics such as the green transition, the rule of law and geopolitical efforts. Despite these topics, he was clearly unable to stop himself from also sharing his personal story about his career progression with the MEPs who were present at the address. “For 15 years, I worked in an energy company, which I founded and ran as a director. It is the largest energy company in South-Eastern Europe, and it is also the largest energy supplier in Slovenia, as well as the largest provider of solar energy. We have also invested heavily in renewable sources of energy,” he said, praising himself while conveniently glossing over the fact that the company in question is actually a monopoly company that would not exist without political support.
Thus, according to MP Anja Bah Žibert, instead of hearing a statesmanlike address with the promotion of Slovenia and Slovenian ideas, we were forced to listen to personal stories, stories about Slovenia’s internal political affairs, or reckoning with those Slovenians who are “not ours.” “In his address, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia also said a lot of things about the previous government, especially about the rule of law and freedom of the media, but he failed to mention that the Minister of the Interior, Tatjana Bobnar, had accused him of exerting political pressure on the police,” the MP was critical of Golob.
Throughout his address, Golob dealt with the previous government
The Prime Minister then listened to MEP’s views and questions in the debate that followed. “Concerns about the media and the state of the media in Slovenia were raised by the Portuguese MEP Paulo Rangel. He specifically mentioned the latest amendment to the Radio-Television Slovenia Act. At the same time, he also warned and expressed concern about the introduction of Slovenian internal border controls in light of Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area,” MP Bah Žibert pointed out, adding that, unfortunately, Golob did not want to (or was unable to) answer MEP’s questions and thus did not use the European floor to promote our country, but rather, throughout his address, dealt with the previous government and his personal fears from the past, which should not have been part of the presentation of Slovenia and the debate before the European Parliament.
Thus, the MP sent the government the following questions related to the Prime Minister’s address in the European Parliament:
“1. What does the Prime Minister consider to be the key achievement of this government since taking office? 2. Why does the Prime Minister believe that “airing out dirty laundry,” which was obviously part of his speech, was an appropriate part of his address to the MEPs? 3. How does the Prime Minister comment on the fact that the Minister of the Interior, Tatjana Bobnar, has accused him of exerting political pressure on the police? How does he comment on this, in light of his pre-election promises about respecting the rule of law and non-interference of politics in the staffing of the repressive organs of the state? 4. Which company was the Prime Minister referring to when he spoke of his 15 years at the helm of the energy company he founded himself? Who are the other founders of this company? 5. Did Robert Golob withdraw from the ownership of this company when he took office as Prime Minister? Who is the owner of this company today?”
Sara Kovač
