Beleaguered Digital Transformation Minister Emilija Stojmenova Duh has stepped down, a day after media reported that her government car was caught using blue emergency lights in Austria unlawfully.

Announcing her decision to the press on 26 September, Stojmenova Duh denied the allegation in the report, first run by the news portal N1, that her ministry tried to avoid paying the fine for the speeding offence.

"The article is a well-planned attempt to discredit me personally," she said, declaring she had tendered her resignation to Prime Minister Robert Golob for "objective responsibility". Golob has accepted her resignation.

She said one of the facts proving the intention of the article was to smear her personally was that it was run four months after the event and just two days before she was due to face a second opposition-sponsored motion of no confidence.

Contentious laptop purchase

She has been facing criticism for months over the €6.5 million purchase of 13,000 laptops meant to promote digital inclusion, which her ministry bought even before the terms and conditions had been set on how and to whom they would be distributed.

As a result the computers have been sitting in a warehouse for months, racking up costs while the eligibility criteria for applicants have been expanded. All the while media have been running news about ever new issues surrounding the deal almost on a daily basis.

After it transpired the Court of Audit found the laptop procurement ran against the principles of efficiency and economy, the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) filed a second ouster motion against the minister, but it was the government car incident which sealed the minister's fate.

Minister denies any wrongdoing

"I accept my objective responsibility with a clear conscience and raised head today ... Regardless, I will still contribute to the digital transformation of Slovenia by teaching new electrical engineers," said Stojmenova Duh, a 38-year-old North Macedonian-born engineer.

Commenting on the 26 May government car incident, she said the car carrying her and a member of her delegation was was stuck in a long traffic jam on its way to Vienna airport. "We followed the established protocol and the instructions we received from the Security and Protection Centre" at the Slovenian police.

She said the chauffeur turned on blue lights after consulting a senior inspector at the centre, and followed his advice on how to respond to an official query from the Austrian authorities, but said nether the chauffeur, nor the ministry or herself received any call or letter saying the chauffeur's action was wrong.

As soon as they received a letter from the Slovenian embassy suggesting they pay the fine, they provided it with the driver's details as requested. "The allegation that we are avoiding paying the fine is utterly untrue, and I repeat that we have not received any fine at the ministry to this day," she said.

The N1 portal reported on 25 September that the minister's car used blue lights, and the ministry later intervened with the Slovenian embassy in Vienna in an attempt to have the Austrian authorities suspend the offence procedure for speeding on a motorway.

Few surprised about the move

In response to the report, junior coalition partners suggested it would be proper for the minister to step down to take pressure off the government, while the head of the anti-graft watchdog, Robert Šumi said that it would be wrong if the minister influenced the decision to use emergency lights, while a possible attempt by her to seek termination of the infringement procedure in Austria "would be unacceptable".

Commenting on her resignation, coalition parties hailed the decision as a responsible one and one displaying a level of political hygiene, while the opposition parties said the move was much belated.

Series of replacements

Stojmenova Duh is the ninth member of the Golob cabinet to either resign or be dismissed where all but one came from the prime minister's party. Earlier this month Darjo Felda stepped down as education minister in a rather surprising move, citing his desire to return to academia although some professional organisations, including the powerful teachers' union SVIZ, had been critical of his record in office for some time.

A replacement for Felda has already been picked, with government officials indicating PM Golob is to nominate Vinko Logaj, a long-serving director of the Education Institute, who had been planning to retire.

Meanwhile, Borut Sajovic, deputy group leader for Golob's Freedom Movement, has been named candidate for defence minister to succeed Marjan Šarec, who has been elected a member of the European Parliament. Golob has been acting as a stand-in in the meantime.