Slovene Economy Minister Survives Ouster Bid Over PPE Scandal

(Bloomberg) -- Slovene Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s economy minister survived a no-confidence vote over accusations of corruption in the procurement of protective equipment to fight Covid-19.

The scandal engulfing Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek coincides with weeks of nationwide protests against Jansa’s nationalist government over its response to the pandemic. After two ruling-coalition lawmakers defected, its majority has dwindled to a single seat in the 90-member parliament.

Opposition parties said the procedures for ordering and purchasing 62 million euros ($70 million) of protective and medical equipment have been non-transparent, uneconomical and profitable for a select few government-friendly companies. Pocivalsek denies wrongdoing.

“Those of you searching for my fingerprints in deals with the state, searching for corrupt and damaging deals, are wasting your time,” he said during his defense in the parliament Thursday.

Opposition lawmakers filed another no-confidence motion Wednesday, accusing the interior minister of breaking constitutional principles and trampling on human dignity by lifting a ban on a concert of Marko Perkovic Thompson, a controversial nationalist singer from Croatia.

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