Slovenia gets first minority government
Ljubljana, 17 December - Slovenia's 13th government, the first minority cabinet to date, was sworn in on 13 September, more than three months after the general election. Made up of the previous centre-left coalition plus two other centrist parties, it was formed by Marjan Šarec, a 40-year-old comedian-turned mayor who rose to prominence after forcing a run-off with incumbent Borut Pahor in the 2017 presidential election.
Ljubljana
Marjan Šarec (front) forms Slovenia's first minority government.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
File photo
After two terms as Kamnik mayor, Šarec led his local party into the 3 June general election to finish as the runner-up to Janez Janša's Democratic Party (SDS). Despite his party winning 25 of the 90 seats in parliament, Janša was unable to form a coalition, being shunned by the centre-left bloc, who secured a majority between them.
With as many as nine parties in parliament, spanning from the far right to the far left of the political spectrum, government formation proved an arduous process. Šarec first sought to form a "rainbow" coalition including the conservative New Slovenia (NSi), whose leader Matej Tonin was temporarily installed as speaker of parliament. But the party opted out, so Šarec turned to the Left, which eventually decided on a project-based partnership with the government.
Although three votes short of an outright majority, Šarec's cabinet was voted in by 45 votes to 34. Having thrown his lot with two former prime ministers, Miro Cerar and Alenka Bratušek, and the perennial Karl Erjavec, Šarec has seen his share of infighting, but has so far managed to keep it in check with a firm hand.