Slovenian election winner fails to secure parliamentary majority

Ljubljana (dpa) - The man nominated to be Slovenia‘s new prime minister after his party won the greatest number of seats in December elections failed to secure a parliamentary majority Wednesday.

Only 42 out of parliament‘s 90 legislators agreed to support a coalition that Zoran Jankovic of Positive Slovenia tried to build, raising further questions about what kind of government would emerge after the snap polls.

Jankovic‘s centre-left party won 28 seats in the elections, but he has so far been unable to forge an alliance that would allow him to gain control of the legislature.

During debate Wednesday, he called on parliamentarians to forgo "political party games" and to allow the "immediate" start of the process of building a government.

But the hours of debate also made it clear that the conservative Democratic Party of former opposition leader Janez Jansa, which had been expected to win in December, also stood little chance of being able to form a government. In the best case scenario, his bloc would only be able to secure 44 votes, two short of the majority needed.

The balance of power could be with parties representing the country‘s Hungarian and Italian minorities, but both have said they do not want the responsibility of forming a government.

Slovenia, a European Union member since 2004 and a part of the eurozone since 2007, saw its credit rating downgraded on December 23 amid growing debt and pressure on leading banks. National leaders are trying to find a way to quickly curb spending, or possibly face a financial crisis.

The elections were necessitated when the government of Borut Pahor fell in September after failing to push through an austerity package, triggering the December elections. dpa ey cha ncs npr Author: Thomas Brey