Slovenia: Interior Minister publishes police data
Slovenia's Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs posted online a list of the names, units and wages of some 8,700 employees of the police force and Interior Ministry, including those of undercover agents and special police task force members. Observers see this as a bizarre and dangerous reaction to a dispute with the trade union, which is calling for wage increases.
Scraping the dregs
For Primorske novice, Hojs' move indicates just how low politicians are prepared to go to get the upper hand:
“After all, he didn't just publish the names and wages of office clerks, but also of those who work in security-related positions. ... But the question is what Hojs' 'manoeuvre' says about us? About the public, the voters and the citizens? Nothing very flattering. Especially because in order to publicly discredit someone in our eyes it's obviously enough to reveal what they earn or perhaps deliver some proof of a 'luxurious lifestyle'. ... This is increasingly becoming the modus operandi in Slovenian politics. ... A complete vulgarisation of the politics that have always monitored, collected, and used this information when needed.”
Method to the madness
Dnevnik has a suspicion:
“The Minister of the Interior knew perfectly well that the police servers would be on overdrive and that neighbours, friends and family would all be gleefully examining the December wages of various members of the police. This would be followed by finger pointing and the search for someone to blame, and relations between colleagues would suffer as a result. ... All part of the plan to further destabilise the situation which began with the changes to upper echelons of the police administration and the national investigation agency. As soon as the police have been crippled sufficiently, Hojs can step in to restructure and get things up and running again. In line with his own interests. ”