Robert Golob
Slovenian politician; prime minister 2022–2026; raised Black Cube interference with the European Commission
| Robert Golob
| |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Slovenian |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Known for | Prime minister of Slovenia, 2022–2026; leader of the Freedom Movement; wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about Black Cube's alleged interference in the 2026 election |
Robert Golob is a Slovenian politician who was prime minister from 2022 to 2026 and leads the Freedom Movement. Days before the March 2026 parliamentary election, covert recordings of figures linked to his government were published, and Slovenia's intelligence agency linked representatives of the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube to visits to the country. Golob wrote to the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, calling it foreign interference. His party narrowly came first, but Janez Janša formed the next government.
Politico Europe described Golob as "liberal" and reported that Janša's party "routinely depicts Golob as a corrupt former energy tycoon".[1] The Slovenian government's own site lists him as prime minister for 2022–2026.[2] Under his government Slovenia recognised a Palestinian state in 2024 and in 2025 imposed entry bans on Benjamin Netanyahu and the ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.[3]
The 2026 recordings
About twelve days before the election of 22 March 2026, videos of prominent Slovenians at apparent business meetings appeared on an anonymous website. The meetings had been arranged by a supposed British investment fund, Stockard Capital, and the posts claimed to expose corruption in Golob's government.[4] According to N1, the people recorded were asked about Golob, his links to the energy trader Gen-I and the Ljubljana mayor Zoran Janković. Those shown included the former justice minister Dominika Švarc Pipan.[5] Golob said: "The fact that covert surveillance and wiretapping in this case involve a private intelligence agency from Israel points to something deeply troubling."[1]
On 20 March the government, citing the intelligence agency SOVA, named Giora Eiland, Liron Tzur and Dan Zorella of Black Cube in connection with a December 2025 visit to the address of the opposition SDS headquarters, and said police were investigating.[6]
Letter to von der Leyen
On 19 March 2026 Golob wrote to Ursula von der Leyen, copied to the European Council President António Costa and the leaders of the Renew group. He described "a grave instance of foreign information manipulation and interference" and said media reports about Black Cube had been "mostly confirmed" by SOVA, which had told the National Security Council Secretariat that Black Cube representatives had visited Slovenia four times in six months. He wrote that Black Cube "is known for their smear campaigns" and for "releasing falsified corruption allegations at precisely planned times, in this case, just before the general elections". Citing what he called "nearly identical operations" in Hungary and against Laura Codruța Kövesi in Romania, he asked the Commission to investigate and to refer the matter to the European Centre for Democratic Resilience for an immediate threat assessment.[2] See Black Cube in Hungary and Black Cube in Romania.
Election and after
Golob's Freedom Movement narrowly came first, with 28.54 per cent of the vote to the SDS's 28.17 per cent, according to Responsible Statecraft. Janez Janša was elected prime minister-designate on 22 May 2026 and his government took office on 4 June, succeeding what the government's own announcement called "the left-wing administration of Robert Golob".[7][8][9] In opposition, the Freedom Movement, the Left and Vesna sought a parliamentary inquiry into who commissioned and paid for the recordings. The governing majority blocked the agenda in June and July 2026.[10] Full detail is on Black Cube in Slovenia.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ali Walker, Sebastian Starcevic and Antoaneta Roussi, Black Cube, leaked tapes and corruption: Israeli spy firm crashes Slovenia's election, Politico Europe, 19 March 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister Robert Golob informs the President of the European Commission of foreign interference in Slovenia's elections in a letter, 19 March 2026.
- ↑ Associated Press, Slovenia's new government lifts entry ban on Netanyahu and other measures against Israel, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026.
- ↑ Borut Mekina, Achiya Schatz, Filip Dobranić and Nika Kovač, How Israelis met with Janez Janša (English version of the 8 March Institute investigation report), Mladina, 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Kaj je znanega o zasebnem izraelskem obveščevalnem podjetju Black Cube (What is known about the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube), N1 Slovenija, 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Government Communication Office, New findings on foreign interference in Slovenia's elections, Government of the Republic of Slovenia, 20 March 2026.
- ↑ Eldar Mamedov, 'Private Mossad' goes after pro-Palestinian leader in Slovenia, Responsible Statecraft (critical; analysis and opinion), 30 March 2026.
- ↑ Slovenia approves Jansa as PM-designate, paving way for reforms, Reuters, 22 May 2026.
- ↑ Government Communication Office, National Assembly confirms new government cabinet, Government of the Republic of Slovenia, 5 June 2026.
- ↑ STA, Vlada objavila poročilo nemških forenzikov: datoteke so bile obdelane, DZ (znova) zavrnil preiskavo afere Black Cube (Government publishes German forensic report: files were processed; National Assembly again rejects Black Cube inquiry), Slovenske novice/Delo, 10 July 2026.