Slovenian PM to fight criminal complaint over police purge – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said he will fight a criminal complaint filed against him by his former interior minister, which alleges the prime minister illegally interfered in a police overhaul in start of his mandate.

Golob denied any wrongdoing during an interview with journalists in Ljubljana on Wednesday, saying he would continue as prime minister.

The 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 they had received the criminal complaint, state broadcaster RTVSLO reported Tuesday.

Golob’s Freedom Movement has promised to shake up a police force whose members are still linked to his predecessor as prime minister, Janez Jansa, whom he accuses of overseeing an authoritarian security policy. The populist former prime minister had made sweeping changes to state institutions, including the police, during the Covid pandemic.

After leaving the government, Bobnar became an advisor to Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, Golob’s political rival.

“This is actually not any interference in police work, but a political struggle,” Golob told reporters in Ljubljana before heading to Brussels on Wednesday for a meeting of police leaders. European Union.

The procedure is still in its early stages and the decision on how to move forward rests with the prosecution, which can either dismiss the complaint or open an investigation that could lead to a legal battle. Such a scenario would be another blow to Golob, who has seen his popularity plummet amid criticism that he has stumbled on his reform promises.

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