Page 15 - bne_newspaper_July_27_2018

Southeast Europe
July 27, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
Political crisis grows in Slovenia as no party manages to form majority
bne IntelliNews
No politician enjoys the necessary support to be elected prime minister, Slovenian President Borut Pahor informed the country’s parliament on July 23.
Pahor, who has twice nominated Janez Jansa, the leader of the largest party in the parliament, declined this time to nominate anyone for the post, reads his letter sent to parliament speaker Matej Tonin. It will now be up to Jansa and rival politician Marjan Sarec to continue their quest
to put together a majority; if neither succeeds Slovenia is likely to face a new round of elections.
Despite being given the mandate twice since the June 3 general election, Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) leader Jansa both times failed to garner the support of sufficient MPs.
Even though his SDS took the largest share of the vote, 25%, in the June 3 general election, Jansa still needs the support of smaller parties to form a government. He has said he wants the backing of more than 46 MPs (the minimum needed for a majority) to ensure his government is stable.
In his July 23 letter to the parliament, Pahor remind- ed that Jansa had informed him about his inability to gather more than 46 MPs to support his cabinet.
Pahor was also informed by the leader of the second-largest party in the parliament Sarec (who refuses to work with Jansa) that he too hasn’t been able to form a government.
“For the reasons stated, I do not propose to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia a candidate for the prime minister,” Pahor said.
President Borut Pahor has declined to nominate a new candidate for prime minister.
The second round of the nomination procedure is due to begin on July 27. In that round a candidate for prime minister may be put forward by either the president or groups of MPs over the following two weeks, according to Slovenian Press Agency (STA).
Both Jansa and Sarec are expected to keep trying to secure a majority. It is in Sarec’s interests
in particular to avoid fresh elections, mainly because of the apathy among Slovenians. Low turnout doesn’t benefit smaller parties, and thus only Jansa’s SDS can expect better results if the election is repeated.
Instead, political newcomer Sarec is expected to double down on his efforts to become prime minister by securing the support of five small parties.
Currently, he can count on the support of the So- cial Democrats led by outgoing Minister of Agri- culture Dejan Zidan, outgoing Prime Minister Miro Cerar’s Party of Modern Centre (SMC), the Party of Alenka Bratusek (SAB) and Democratic Party
of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS). All of them to- gether have 43 MPs and therefore need one more partner with at least three MPs for a government.
The partner could be Slovenian Left, whose
nine MPs would give Sarec enough votes in the parliament for his election. STA speculates he could opt to form a minority government that would enjoy support from the leftwing party in exchange for implementing some of the promises from its election manifesto — an option described by the Slovenian news agency as a Portugal- modelled project partnership.