Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar has announced she will tender her resignation shortly following a row with Prime Minister Robert Golob in which she implied political interference in police. Golob has accepted her resignation.

Media have reported that tensions between the prime minister and the interior minister have been running high for a while, but the row went public after the minister failed with her proposal to name acting Police Commissioner Boštjan Lindav for a full term. Instead, he was given another six months on the job in an acting capacity on 1 December.

Commenting on the snub to her nomination the next day, Bobnar said that politics should "stop at the police doors", a position she would insist on even if it cost her her job.

There has been speculation in the media that Golob and his team have been unhappy because people linked to the previous government keep holding key positions in the force.

It has also been suggested it took too long for the police to compile a report on the handling of anti-government protests while Covid restrictions were in force under the previous government. The , released on 6 December, found excessive and unwarranted use of force in the crackdown on protesters.

Unofficial sources suggested Bobnar's comment on political interference was a step too far for Golob.

On 5 December, Golob acknowledged there was a divergence of views between him and the minister. He then urged Lindav to come forward with any information about potential political pressure on him personally or on the police force.

Golob asked him for "explanations as to whether any minister, state secretary or other office holder, including the minister of the interior, wanted to acquire any information about specific procedures conducted by police."

On receiving Lindav's report on 7 December, along with a letter in which the minister announced her resignation, Golob's office said the prime minister would accept Bobnar's resignation due to a loss of trust in her.

It added that the report did not corroborate the minister's allegation of political interference in the police.

The report "does not indicate that during this government's term any political official exerted political pressure on the police, sought to obtain information on police work or tried to influence specific procedures," the PM's office said.

It called on the police to make the report public as soon as possible. The Interior Ministry said it would examine the possibility to do so, while Bobnar announced she would take her allegations of political pressure to the prosecution.

Moreover, in her letter to Golob, Bobnar says his decision not to endorse her proposal to appoint Lindav for full term is "unprecedented" and an "obstacle to efficient development" of the police system. She also mentioned another appointment that was held back.

She understands her being denied the right to pick her team herself as a form of political pressure, as does Golob's position that she and Lindav have not met the expectation that they would "clean up" the force.

Reacting to Bobnar's resignation, coalition parties refrained from commenting on her row with Golob, but were quick to note that it would not affect their unity or relationships within the coalition.

The two junior coalition partners praised Bobnar's record in office. The Social Democrats (SD) hailed her competence, dedication and commitment to legitimacy and fairness and the Left commended her on ordering removal of the wire fence from the border with Croatia.

Bobnar had served as Slovenia's first woman head of the police force before she was replaced by the Janez Janša government in March 2020 and moved to a back office job. The same happened to Lindav after he was dismissed as the head of the criminal police shortly after.

Bobnar's exit is the first in the Robert Golob cabinet since it assumed office on 1 June. A broader reshuffle is expected as the cabinet is reorganised in accordance with the new government act that was endorsed in the 27 November .