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Southeast Europe
March 16, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
Slovenian prime minister announces shock resignation
bne IntelliNews
Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar unexpectedly resigned on March 14, a few months before the general election. Cerar announced his decision after the Supreme Court annulled the September 2017 referendum that gave the go-ahead to
the country’s largest infrastructure project because of the use of budget funds to finance the government’s campaign.
"It's a responsibility and I'm taking a decision that every trustworthy politician should take in such a situation. In the election you will judge between right and wrong and who deserves your support," he said, addressing voters, Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported.
The following day, President Borut Pahor suggested holding early parliamentary elections in the second half of May rather than June as previously planned. Pahor does not plan to nominate an interim prime minister, but said he would consult with parliamentary parties as MPs also have the option to nominate a premier.
Despite the importance of the €1bn project to expand the rail link between the port of Koper and the inland hub of Divaca, there is speculation that Cerar may have stepped down to boost his chances in the upcoming election.
In pre-election opinion polls Cerar’s centre-left Party of Modern Centre is trailing behind three other parties, according to Reuters. The centre-
left List of Marjan Sarec – the runner-up in last year’s presidential election who has never before run for parliament – is currently in the lead ahead of the opposition centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS).
But the setback for the Koper-Divaca railway expansion, which was championed by Cerar’s cabinet, is also a major setback in itself. It
is strategically important for Slovenia as it connects the capital Ljubljana with the country’s sole Adriatic port, Koper. This is also the main maritime gateway for Hungary, handling over three-quarters of its container trans-shipments.
However, it has been facing opposition from some within the country. The biggest opponents of the pro- ject are lobby group Taxpayers Standing Our Ground and the SDS, who claim that it will cost too much.
Even though Cerar’s government secured support for the project in the referendum, an appeal against the project was filed by Vili Kovacic, a pensioner and the head of Taxpayers Standing Our Ground. Ko- vacic claimed that there were irregularities such as using budget funds to finance the referendum cam- paign, which influenced the outcome of the vote. The result was relatively narrow, with 53.47% voting for the law on the project, and 46.47% against.
On March 14, the Supreme Court upheld Kovacic’s view that by spending €97,000 in budget funds
on the pro-campaign the government financed