"New president of the Corruption Prevention Commission Boris Štefanec will have to step down in the coming days", the daily Delo says in its Monday commentary, obviously Štefanec stepped out of the coalition Positive Slovenia (PS) party only after he was tipped for the post.
It is clear that the commission as an institution had been rendered completely paralysed the moment Štefanec's party affiliations had become apparent, the commentator says.
Comments about biased position of the corruption watchdog will be on the table all the time. One of the key traits a member of the commission's senate must have is the public feeling of impartiality. Regardless of his noble intentions, Štefanec no longer fulfils this.
If the president did not know about Štefanec's membership in the PS, the commission that picked him should have. There is no doubt that this is a scandal, the paper writes under "Minutes Until Resignation".
It is the only term that can describe the disgrace that has happened. An apology from the commission can mitigate it, but only Štefanec can make it go away. "We are confident that he does not want to destroy such an important body as the corruption watchdog," the commentator concludes.
The appointment of Boris Štefanec to the helm of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has undermined the credibility for the watchdog and severely disrupts the entire concept of the war on corruption, Večer comments Monday on revelations that Štefanec was a member of the ruling party until the day he was appointed.
The appointment of Štefanec is not unlawful, but it is unhygienic. The Commission should be led by professional and politically independent people, in particular since their job is to keep senior party members in check.
Večer notes that President Borut Pahor undoubtedly bears the bulk of the responsibility for the mess, though his office said he did not know of Štefanec's party affiliation.
Has the selection been dictated by Positive Slovenia (PS) deputy Melita Župevc, who was on the screening commission? The screeners are responsible as well, but the president takes the final decision and he ought to have done his homework.
It is time for the president to wake up from his reality show and realise why he was elected. The appointment of the anti-graft commission leadership is not only a story about how Štefanec will work, it is also a story about what, if anything, the president is doing, the paper concludes in "Beheaded Commission".
Source: Slovenia Times
