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SUBJECT [Mar 5] Slovenia gets new prime minister
DATE 2020-03-05
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Photo: FT. Slovenia’s new Prime Minister, Janez Jansa

 

On March 3, 2020, Slovenian parliament approved Janez Jansa as the new Prime Minister. After Marjan Sarec, the former Prime Minister, resigned in January, Jansa formed a coalition of four parties and gathered majority votes within the parliament.

 

Jansa is the head of the largest party in the Slovenian parliament, the centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). He formed a coalition with the centre-left Party of Modern Centre (SMC), the conservative New Slovenia (NSi), and the Pensioner’s Party (DeSUS). In a vote to confirm him as the prime minister, Jansa won 52 votes; 31 MPs voted against, six abstained, and one ballot was invalid. Upon approval, Jansa is given 15 days to assemble the Cabinet, which also needs to go through parliamentary approval once ready.

 

The 61-year-old politician is considered one of the most experienced politicians in Slovenia, who has already served as prime minister twice in 2004-2008 and in 2012-2013. He was also the defending minister in three governments from 1990 to 1994, and in 2000.

 

The new Prime Minister’s goals are three-folds: cutting red tape, continuing on Sarec’s healthcare reforms, and facilitating economic growth. He said the government will work toward improving infrastructure and decentralizing the country by placing new institutions outside the capital. Also, he recognized the phase of Slovenia going through aging society, and therefore claimed that he would push through a modified version of Sarec’s healthcare reforms and inevitably increase payroll taxes for higher pension and wider childcare benefits. Lastly, he emphasized the importance of economic growth as the determining index of well-being.

 

Additionally, he is ambitious to strengthen Slovenia’s military power by introducing military conscription, and coordinate the government’s interest as a member of NATO.

 

 

[Sources]

Hopkins, V. (2020, March 3). Slovenia confirms Orban ally as new PM. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/664897ec-5d6f-11ea-b0ab-339c2307bcd4

 

Novak, M. (2020, March 3). Slovenian Parliament Set to Elect Center-Right Jansa as PM. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-03-03/slovenian-parliament-set-to-elect-center-right-jansa-as-pm

 

STA. (2020, March 4). Janša Sworn in as Slovenia's Prime Minister-Designate. Retrieved from https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/5762-jansa-sworn-in-as-slovenia-s-prime-minister-designate

 

 

BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)