Gantar

Ljubljana – Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek resigned on Wednesday after he became the target of media scrutiny over lack of clarity regarding the payment of his weekend stay at an upscale hotel in Bohinj in January. He said he was “resigning exclusively due to the late payment of the bill”, and was accepting responsibility for this.

Ljubljana – Health Minister Janez Poklukar has rejected in an interview with the STA speculations that he would found his own party before the coming general election, due next year. What is more, he does not intend to stand in the election, but should a chance arise, he sees himself continuing as health minister after the election.

Ljubljana – The Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) will hold a congress on Saturday to elect what will be its third leadership in a year and a half. Last December, after less than a year under Aleksandra Pivec, the party again elected its ex-boss Karl Erjavec, but he stepped down in March. There are three contenders now.

Ljubljana – Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič has handed her resignation, the Justice Ministry confirmed for the STA. The reason is the government’s decision to annul the procedure to appoint Slovenia’s two European delegated prosecutors and to publish a new call for applications, which Kozlovič sees no justified grounds for.

Ljubljana – Former Health Minister Tomaž Gantar has left the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS). Gantar, who also served as a party vice-president, announced the decision at a session of the DeSUS executive committee on Thursday. He told the STA he had been waiting for a proposal to consolidate the party, but given the developments he realised he had enough.

Brussels – Slovenia has ordered 90% of the vaccines it is entitled to in the first and second quarter of the year on a pro rata basis. In December, it did not put in an order for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine during a second round of joint EU purchasing, show figures from the EU’s vaccination steering board.

Ljubljana – Janez Poklukar, a 42-year-old doctor-turned health manager who has been leading Slovenia’s largest medical centre through the biggest ever health crisis, was appointed new health minister by the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Backed by 50 votes to 31, Poklukar is the country’s 18th health minister since 1990, including two who have been appointed twice.

Ljubljana – The Ljubljana University Medical Centre (UKC) has signed a deal with Majbert Pharm to supply rapid antigen tests at virtually the same cost apiece as the company supplied to the Health Ministry for mass coronavirus testing under a contract signed in December.

Ljubljana – Janez Poklukar, the director of Slovenia’s largest hospital UKC Ljubljana, has been nominated for health minister nearly two months after the resignation of Tomaž Gantar.

“Poklukar will be the new health minister,” Prime Minister Janez Janša announced on Twitter on Friday after formally submitting the nomination to the National Assembly.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša has said that he would nominate a new health minister when the MPs for the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS), which recently left the government coalition, decide whether they will support the government or become opposition MPs. He said they have until Wednesday’s coalition meeting to decide.