Slovenian Prime Minister Defends Criminal Charges Over Police Purge – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said he will fight a criminal complaint from his former interior minister who accuses him of illegally interfering in police reform early in his term.

Speaking to reporters in Ljubljana on Wednesday, Golob denied any wrongdoing and said he would carry out his duties as prime minister.

Former minister Tatjana Bobnar resigned in December 2022, accusing Golob – whose government had taken office six months earlier – of exerting political pressure by demanding personnel changes in the Slovenian police. Prosecutors confirmed that they had received the criminal complaint, public broadcaster RTVSLO reported on Tuesday.

Golob’s freedom movement promised to shake up a police force whose members were still linked to his predecessor as prime minister, Janez Jansa, whom he accused of overseeing a tough security policy. The former populist prime minister had made sweeping changes to state institutions, including the police, during the Covid pandemic.

After leaving government, Bobnar served as an adviser to Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, a political rival of Golob.

“In reality, this is not about interference in the work of the police, but about a political fight,” Golob told reporters in Ljubljana before flying to a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on Wednesday.

The case is still at an early stage and the decision on how to proceed rests with the public prosecutor, who can either dismiss the complaint or open an investigation that could lead to a trial. Such a scenario would be a further blow to Golob, whose popularity has plummeted amid criticism he has stumbled over promises of reform.

(Updates with details on police unrest, background information starting in the fourth paragraph.)

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