Darij Krajcic, a Member of Parliament for the Marjan Sarec List (LMS) party and a senior partner in the ruling coalition resigned on Thursday for stealing a sandwich from a supermarket.
He told local media he was annoyed at being “treated like air” and decided to test the supermarket’s security by walking out.
“I must have stood some three minutes by the counter,” the 54-year-old explained to TV channel POP.
“Nobody came after me, nobody yelled,” he said, suggesting an over-reliance on video surveillance meant staff sometimes “overlook something.”
Krajcic insisted that he returned shortly afterwards to pay for the sandwich and said it was his first time to do such a thing.
The BBC reported that he later apologised, saying he regretted his “social experiment” and resigned from Parliament.
His initial admission became public when he shared the anecdote with parliamentary colleagues in a committee meeting on Wednesday.
The head of LMS parliamentary faction, Brane Golubovic, condemned Krajcic’s actions as “unacceptable” and said the MP “has to bear the responsibility, in line with LMS’ high ethical standards.”