Ljubljana - Both police trade unions said on Wednesday Tatjana Bobnar, former police commissioner, was an excellent choice for interior minister. She will restore citizens' trust in police, which is crucial, the unions said after Robert Golob, the presumptive new prime minister, revealed the list of ministerial candidates.

Bobnar is a "long-term employee of police who has an excellent reputation among staff as well as citizens," the head of the Police Trade Union of Slovenia (PSS), Rok Cvetko, told the STA.

Kristjan Mlekuš, the head of the Trade Union of Slovenian Police (SPS), labelled Golob's decision as an "excellent move", given that Bobnar "is known as a great expert in the field covered by the Interior Ministry".

Both trade unions are confident that Bobnar will restore the reputation and dignity of police employees after they had dropped significantly.

According to Cvetko, Bobnar has built her reputation by insisting on the respect for the rule of law, human rights and democratic values. She has shown a high level of integrity and ethics, which will definitely be crucial in the next term, he added.

The trade unions are also upbeat about social dialogue under Bobnar. "She has shown a great deal of understanding for social dialogue already in the past," Mlekuš said, with Cvetko adding she was a "tough but fair negotiator".

Bobnar was appointed the first woman police commissioner by the Marjan Šarec government in December 2018. The Janez Janša government replaced her at its maiden session in March 2020.