Before his meeting with European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, PM Miro Cerar said he was suprised with the decision of the Slovenian State Holding supervisory board. SDH supervisors decided to leave the final decision on the sale of Telekom Slovenija to its only bidder, the British investmet fund Cinven, to the government. However, the PM assured that the government would play its role.

"As soon as I receive all the materials today and take counsel with the relevant ministers, I will make a decision on the next steps. They will most likely be carried out expeditiously, as it is a burning issue. I think it would be right for the government to respond in a way that it should, considering its powers," said Cerar.

The Minister of Agriculture and president of the Social Democrats SD party, Dejan Židan, is happy with the decision of the SDH supervisors. According to Židan, this allows the state, as the owner, to re-evaluate the arguments for selling Telekom, connected to the negotiated price and the (un)strategic importance of the buyer.

Židan says the government could now make the decision in a transparent way, without hiding behind institutions, in the presence of all its individual ministers. "Voters will also be able to assess whether we work in line with the promises made before the elections," explained Židan, who has always maintained that the government should have the final say on the sale of Telekom.

According to Židan, the SDH decision is also in line with the corporate way of managing assets. The assets in question are of such importance that its managers have to ask the owners to make the final decision. Židan says there is nothing unusual about the decision. "I realize that many people in Slovenia like to hide behind different institutions. That way they don't have to make any decisions publicly. The responsibility of a politician is to make decisions," said Židan.


G. C., B. V.; translated by K. J.