Slovenia PM-designate to form 3-party coalition
21/08/2014 08:47
By Marja Novak
LJUBLJANA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Slovenia's new government will
be a three-party centre-left coalition which will have 52 seats
in the 90-seat parliament, the head of the Party of Miro Cerar
(SMC), which won July's snap election, said late on Wednesday.
Law professor and political novice Miro Cerar, who became
PM-designate on Tuesday, said he would invite into government
the pensioners' party Desus and the centre-left Social
Democrats.
Both parties are sceptical about the privatisation which
Slovenia has pledged to carry out to consolidate its public
finances. The country saw its deficit soar to 14.7 percent of
GDP late last year when it narrowly avoided an international
bailout for its banks.
"We are determined to form a strong and quality government
that Slovenia needs at this moment," Cerar told reporters after
his party's board meeting.
President Borut Pahor nominated Cerar as prime minister on
Tuesday and parliament is expected to confirm his nomination on
Aug 25. ID:nL5N0QP2CM
Coalition talks are expected to be completed next week while
Cerar will have to nominate his cabinet in early September.
Cerar said his party decided against inviting the
centre-left party of the outgoing Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek
into the coalition. He said this was because Bratusek's former
party caused the political crisis in the country and because the
government she led nominated her as a candidate to be Slovenia's
next EU commissioner, a decision which has been widely
criticised as unethical.
Slovenia held a second early election in a row on July 13
because Bratusek resigned in May after she lost the battle for
the leadership of her former party, the Positive Slovenia.
Meanwhile, Slovenia continues the privatisation processes of
telecoms operator Telekom Slovenia TLSG.LJ and airport
Aerodrom Ljubljana ARPO.LJ although Cerar had said he was
opposed to privatisation of important strategic firms like
Telekom, Aerodrom, port Luka Koper LKPG.LJ and railways but
would support the sale of other state firms.
Slovenia, which declared independence from the former
Yugoslavia in 1991, has been reluctant to privatise state firms
over the past two decades so the government still controls about
50 percent of the economy.
(Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Toby Chopra)
((Marja.Novak@thomsonreuters.com; +386-205-6369; Reuters
Messaging: marja.novak.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SLOVENIA GOVERNMENT/