Government crisis in Slovenia: Guided by the deep state?

Just a quarter of a year in office, the conservative-led government of Slovenia in a crisis. The Minister of economy is accused of abuse of office in the procurement of medical equipment in the Corona-crisis. The investigating authorities searched on Tuesday for several objects, then the Minister of the interior and the police stepped back boss. The Prime Minister Janez Janša-led government accuses the investigators, to act out of political motives against you. Of a "deep state" is out of the question, the go back on the structures of the former Communist regime.

Stephan Löwenstein

Political correspondent, based in Vienna.

The National office for investigation, a specialised in economic crime unit, is investigating the short-term procurement of ventilators for 8.8 million Euro. Searches eleven objects in the environment, the economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, the representative company and a brokerage company, from whose ranks in April, the note on the allegedly violent, political interference in the tender had come were. The Minister of economy, who had been detained during the searches for several hours by the police, assured his full co-operation. To him, it was only a matter of to procure enough protective equipment, of Slovenia, during the pandemic, so urgently needed, in his opinion. He just wishes that the investigations were efficient, professional and without obvious political Motivation led.

police of the former state party controlled?

The affair has been going on for a few weeks by the media and dominated the political debate. The real bombshell was the resignation of interior Minister Aleš Hojs and his police chief Anton Travner, are both accused in the procurement matter. Hojs said that he had been informed on Tuesday morning about the started RAID. He does not think that the action is politically motivated, and because the political responsibility lying with the Minister, resign it. He combined that with serious allegations against the police and the judiciary. At the same time, he dismissed allegations that he did want to hinder the investigation previously or influence: He had never interfered, or arranged, who should determine against whom. Hojs had been appointed on the Ticket of the Christian democratic SDS of Prime Minister Janša in the government; in a previous term of janša's term Hojs was in 2012/13, the Minister of defense.

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In the comments of a left and liberal media testing his resignation was referred to as a distraction. Also, the police Union, described his accusations as "completely unfounded" and demanded an apology. Hojs had created from the start with the existing structures that had installed the (with him now resigned) chief of police, as well as some of the other leadership positions will be recast. At least, his resignation is an admission that he could not prevail.

Hojs said in his resignation statement, the police are not de facto controlled by their leadership, but of the former state Communist party and its secret service, the UDBA. "Despite all the Changes at the top, and despite all the staff changes that could make the police chief so far, I must say that the UDBA-based structures, the dominant Segment of the police force. This goes together with a judicial and public Prosecutor's office of the same origin, is still so deep in the System that I was not able to depoliticize the police and effectively to change.“ Your only goal is to discredit the Minister and the Prime Minister and the collapse of the centre-Right to bring government to secure privileges which they would have had under the previous center-left coalitions.

critics Hojs Vice versa, he didn't want to politicise the police in the sense of janša's term SDS. Hojs I want to be in truth the godfather "of the" parallel state, writes the left-wing newspaper Dnevnik. Hojs I want to protect with his step Janša was quoted as the policy Advisor Alem Maksuti in the news Agency Sta. His resignation to show that the affair is still very much more than just the Minister of the economy; the "conspiracy theories" about a deep state served to distract and institutions to attack, which could be attacked by the next interior Minister.