Slovenian president tells lawmakers to nominate PM able to form coalition

SARAJEVO, April 25 (Reuters) – Slovenia was left without a prime minister-designate in the wake of last month’s election after President Natasa Pirc Musar said on Saturday she would not nominate one because ​no parliamentary group had secured enough support to form a ‌governing coalition.

The parliamentary vote ended up with a narrow victory for the outgoing prime minister, Robert Golob, whose liberal Freedom Movement (GS) secured 29 seats while populist ex-premier Janez Jansa’s right-leaning Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) won 28.

Golob kicked off coalition talks with a broad ‌range ​of parties, but admitted this week that he ⁠had failed to secure ⁠46 votes in parliament and that GS would go into opposition.

Jansa, who disputed the election results, said the SDS was not currently working to form a government but media reported that he was secretly ​working to form a government with smaller centre-right parties that entered the parliament.

Pirc Musar said her decision means that the proposal of the ⁠candidate for prime minister will be delegated ⁠to lawmakers, who will have 14 days to nominate ​a new premier.

If they fail to do so in this second round of ​voting, there will be a third round in the 90-seat ‌parliament.

“Only if the second and third rounds are not successful, I can call early elections,” Pirc Musar told a news conference called to announce her decision.

She said that no parliamentary group had met her request to ⁠submit 46 votes of support during consultations earlier this week. She also highlighted a lack of trust and mutual respect among the politicians she had consulted ⁠with.

“If political actors ‌want to gain my trust to propose a candidate ⁠for prime minister after consultations with them, I expect ​them ‌to speak honestly and frankly,” she said.

A leadership change ​could affect ⁠Slovenia’s foreign and domestic agendas as Golob had pursued European Union-aligned foreign policy and social reforms.

Jansa, a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump who wants to introduce tax breaks for businesses and cut funding for NGOs, welfare and media, could reverse these if he regains power.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing ​by Alexander Smith)