Slovenian election - Miro Cerar has resigned

[Diouf]

Just realized now that Alenka Bratušek was not among the five elected MPs for the Party of Alenka Bratušek! Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec also failed to get re-elected despite being leader of DeSUS.

However, it wasn't really because of a particularly poor showing by Bratusek, but more to do with a slightly strange feature of the Slovenian electoral system. In general, the Slovenian system is quite good as a it is Proportional Representation. Parties that cross the 4% share of the vote nationally will get their deserved share of MPs. There are 8 electoral regions, which each elect 11 MPs, and the parties will get the most seats in the areas where they did the best (as long as there are still seats left in the region). This was already where things failed for DeSus leader Erjavec, who was running in the Kranj region, where the party only won 3.57%, the lowest result of all 8 regions. So a quite deserved failing for Erjavac, who also only managed to win 5,96% for DeSus in the district of Kranj, where he was running. However, this wasn't the problem for Bratusek. She also ran in Kranj, but it was the best region for PAB, so they won 1 of their 5 seats here. Each region consists of 11 districts, where the party runs one candidate each. Bratusek was the candidate in both Kranj I and Kranj II, and won 2 400 votes for the party, while party colleague Franc Kramar ran in the smaller town Radovljica and won 1 053 votes. So you might think that Bratusek wins the seat as the biggest vote getter. However, seats in the regions are not distributed to the candidate with the highest number of votes, but with the highest share of the votes. Bratusek secured 11,14% for PAB across the two Kranj districts, but Kramar won 13,85% of the vote in Radovlija and thereby the party's seat in Kranj. Quite a tough defeat for Bratusek. Not a particular fan of this little aspect of the electoral system. I prefer the general principle of the Danish model, where you can choose between all of a party's candidates in the regions, and the one/ones with the highest number of personal votes get in.


http://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/1378-on-political-parties-that-entered-parliament-without-their-leaders

[Diouf]

A centrist rainbow coalition could be on the way. Six parties agreed to nominate NSi leader Matej Tonin as the new Speaker. The parties putting forwards his name were LMS, SMC, SD, DeSUS, SAB and NSi, who would have a majority of 50 seats out of 90. So basically all centrist and centre-left party except the Left, and then joined by centre-right NSi. Marjan Šarec, leader of the second-largest LMS, has said that this a coalition he would prefer. Outgoing PM and SMC leader Miro Cerar also said that this was a step towards a coalition. However, NSi states that the parties still have negotiations with both sides (increasing the concessions they can get). SDS and SNS actually ended up voting for Tonin as well, so only the Left voted against him. SDS knew they could not get a candidate of their own through, so to keep relations with NSi open, it was probably smart to vote for Tonin. Surprising to me that SNS showed the same constraint.

http://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/1494-tonin-elected-speaker-of-slovenian-parliament-feature

[Diouf]

SDS as expected has not been able to find a majority yet. The six party negotiations between LMS, SMC, SD, DeSUS, SAB and NSi broke down as the centre-right NSi quit negotiations. The five centre-left parties are now instead trying to reach a deal with the far-left Levica instead.

http://www.sloveniatimes.com/pm-nomination-process-entering-second-stage

[Diouf]

Levica rejected to be part of a sixparty government, but the parties are now negotiations about a possible minority government with outside support from Levica, which the far-left party seems much more open towards. However, Miro Cerar and Alenka Bratušek are afraid that such an arrangement would not be stable enough, which have caused some heated discussions with Šarec via the media.

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http://www.sloveniatimes.com/for-sarec-a-test-of-feasibility-of-minority-government

[Diouf]

Levica has decided to support Sarec' minority coalition. The parties have drawn up a cooperation protocol which sets out how the government and Levica will coordinate in terms of policy making. There are still some discouraging noises from Alenka Bratusek's party, but it seems like they are on board. A vote on Sarec as PM could happen already next week, and a cabinet is expected to be formed by September. The parties have already agreed on raising the minimum wage and pensions, increasing the employers' contribution to the pension system as well as reduced waiting periods in the health care system.

http://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/1829-sarec-gains-the-support-of-the-left-securing-position-as-pm

[Diouf]

Sarec confirmed as PM

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http://www.france24.com/en/20180817-slovenia-mps-approve-centre-left-sarec-premier?ref=tw_i

[Diouf]

Sarec nominates cabinet



"New PM Marjan Šarec submitted the list of his 16 minister candidates to parliament. From next Tuesday to Thursday the minister candidates will face hearings in front of their relevant parliamentary committees. A vote on the new government, which will be the 13t h in Slovenia’s history, will be held on the 13th of September, or perhaps even one day earlier". Outgoing PM and SMC leader Miro Cerar is nominated as Foreign Minister, former PM and SAB leader Alenka Bratušek is nominated as Infrastructure Minister and DeSUS leader Karl Erjavec is nominated as Minister of Defense. SD leader Dejan Židan has decided to stay out of government. University professor Andrej Bertoncelj from LMS is nominated as Finance Minister.

http://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/1961-sarec-announces-16-candidates-for-ministers-includes-biographies


https://www.rtvslo.si/news-in-english/ougtoing-government-highlights-stability-names-of-new-minister-candidates-sent-to-parliament/464633