SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER GOLOB (RENEW) IN HUGE CORRUPTION SCANDAL In the last few days, Slovenia has been shaken by leaked recordings that clearly describe the largest corruption scandals in the country’s history and reveal the failure of the rule of law. The recordings implicate individuals at the very top of Slovenia’s political and power structure, including Prime Minister Robert Golob, Slovenia’s first President Milan Kučan, and the long-time mayor of the capital Ljubljana Zoran Jankoviċ, one of the most powerful political figures in the country and a well-known ally of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. An anonymous website has begun publishing leaked audio video recordings of private conversations between influential figures from politics, business, and the legal profession. These are not recordings of ordinary citizens. Among those heard in the tapes are former Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan and prominent lawyer Nina Zidar Klemenčič, ex wife of the former President of Slovenia’s Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. In the recordings, participants openly discuss political influence over investigations, lobbying networks, mutual favors among elites, alleged corruption involving senior government officials, and the failure of the police, prosecutors, judiciary and supervisory institutions to act on such practices. Some of the conversations also refer to business dealings linked to the state-owned energy trading company GEN-I and to Prime Minister Robert Golob. The recordings make it clear that Golob continues to control the state energy company he once led and remains deeply involved in its business and political networks. Allegations of corruption and informal power networks have circulated in Slovenia for years. What makes these recordings particularly striking is that these practices are now openly described by people who appear to be part of the same circles of power themselves, explaining how the system works. So far, none of the individuals heard in the recordings have denied the authenticity of the conversations. Instead, much of the political response has focused on identifying who leaked the recordings and raising claims of possible foreign interference in Slovenia’s elections, shifting attention away from the substance of what was actually said and huge corruption cases.