Prime Minister Robert Golob swept into the spotlight in 2022 with a smile and a vision that promised change – a bright and beautiful future for Slovenia. He is young, charismatic, his party is supposedly ‘centre-left, pro-green and pro-business’ – sounds convincing enough to storm the scene and win. A fresh face to charm the young voters with his ‘clean hands’, coming from the business sector.
Four years later, the applause has faded, and the banners came down – and the truth behind the shiny façade got revealed.
For once, the message was false: he’s not one ‘from outside the system’.
He was actually the CEO of a state energy company, with connections to all ends of the political sphere – before founding his own business and benefiting from all those useful relationships to gain public contracts.
His campaign slogans were business-friendly (think lower taxes), but by no means left-wing – the promise of a ‘socially just and solidary state’ was an empty promise.
If anything, many of the government’s decisions supported the upper classes or the ultra-rich. Like the idea to tax second- and third homes – but leave first homes untaxed, irrespective of their value.
The promised pension reforms mostly benefited small, elite groups like artists.
The housing crisis only deepened during his tenure – young Slovenians find it harder than ever before to find affordable housing. The government took action only belatedly, and the promised reforms would take a decade to materialize. (IDE BELINKELHETJÜK AZ ELŐZŐ GOLOBOS CIKKET😊)
The business-savvy attitude failed to prove its worth, too. In fact, Slovenia’s economy is struggling. The economic growth forecast for 2025 indicates a meagre 1 percent increase in GDP, while the general government deficit is projected to rise to 2.2 percent. The second half of 2025 saw negative contributions from investments and net exports.
His most potent promise was to fight against corruption – Golob has repeatedly accused former Prime Minister Janey Janša of weaponizing law enforcement, trampling on the rule of law, curtailing civil rights.
Yet, in this moment, it’s Prime Minister Golob himself who’s accused by Slovenia’s anti-corruption commission of violating integrity rules. The prime minister is accused of instructing former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar and the then police chief to ‘cleanse the police force of officials appointed by the previous government’.
It’s his influencer-wife who’s involved in several cryptocurrency scandals.
It’s his former company (at one point run by his ex-wife, then his teenage daughter) and business partners who stand accused in various corruption cases, facing charges of bribes, clientelism and alike.
Many of the former or current members of the Golob government are also involved in corruption cases or are accused of unethical steps.
Starting from buying overpriced buildings to house Ljubljana’s court, or thirteen-thousand laptops without deciding on the details of the program and ending with using public funds to finance luxury trips to New York. And anything in between.
The balance of the last four years shows that Golob is neither the ‘promised saviour’ of Slovenia, nor is he any better of the other politicians whom he accused of driving the country to its ruins.
It seems that Golob campaigned for the crown, not the cause. Once he got it, he stopped to care.
Cover photo based on image by Med Cruise Guide / Flickr
