Controversies
In December 2010, Pahor criticized the election of Peter Bossman as the mayor of Piran on the basis of his ethnicity. He stated that it is a "bad sign if one elects a foreigner for mayor." The statement echoed in the Slovenian and Italian media, and Pahor was accused of racism by some. He rejected these accusations saying he has nothing against Bossman being black; he clarified his statement by saying that he would rather see a mayor from one of the autochthonous ethnic groups from the region, either a Slovene or Istrian Italian.
In March 2012, the Italian right wing newspaper Il Giornale published a book review of his autobiography titled "Nobody's Son", in which the book reviewer labels Pahor as "Slovene nationalist" and "negationist" for his agreeing with the historian Alessandra Kersevan's criticism of historical revisionism in Italy regarding foibe. The book review also reproached Pahor for making personal observations about the period of Yugoslav occupation of Trieste (between May and June 1945), implying he witnessed the events, although he did not reside in the city at the time.
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