Cerar Secures Support for PM, Not for "Rainbow" Coalition

This means that Cerar has secured an absolute majority of votes in parliament.

DeSUS president Karl Erjavec told the press after he and DeSUS deputy group head Franc Jurša met with Pahor that the doors are open to the formation of a new government.

The SMC and DeSUS combined have 46 deputies in the 90-member National Assembly, which constitutes an absolute majority. DeSUS is also in the coalition-building talks with the SMC as a likely future partner.

Erjavec said that a new government should be formed as soon as possible because a number of important meetings will be held next month, including a meeting of the European Council, a NATO summit and a session of the UN General Assembly.

"These are forums where it is necessary that a participating country has a government with full powers," explained Erjavec, who also serves as foreign minister in the outgoing government.

Pahor also met today representatives of the Democrats (SDS), whose deputy group head Jože Tanko said that the SDS has no objections to the president of the relative winner of the elections being proposed for the PM-designate.

He added that the SDS will not be only a constructive opposition party, but also a "serious alternative to the government".

"We have a strong expert backing, a strong expert staff and, of course, members who are able to propose, create and realise certain solutions," Tanko said after meeting Pahor, labelling the meeting as a pure formality given the landslide victory of the left bloc.

SMC representatives already met with Pahor on Monday, with Cerar saying after the meeting that the president intends to nominate him as the PM-designate at the beginning of next week.

Pahor will wrap up the consultations on Wednesday with meetings with representatives of the Social Democrats (SD), United Left (ZL), New Slovenia (NSi), Alliance of Alenka Bratušek (ZaAB) and two minority MPs.

ZaAB president and outgoing PM Alenka Bratušek said today that Cerar will get support from the four deputies of her party as a PM-designate despite the fact that it is not yet clear whether the ZaAB will be in the coalition.

Cerar won the elections convincingly, the programme of his party is the closest to the programme of the ZaAB, while Slovenia needs a stable and strong government, Bratušek listed the reasons for supporting Cerar.

Source: The Slovenia Times

Photo source: HRT, Reuters