How fragile is Slovenia's new government?
In Slovenia Marjan Šarec is to lead a minority government consisting of five parties and supported by the eco-socialist Left Party. His newly founded LMS came second in the election at the start of June. The conservative winner, Janez Janša, was unable to form a majority. Journalists doubt that Šarec, a former comedian, will be able to successfully manage the centre-left government.
The Left - the kingmaker
On Thursday the party Levica (The Left) voted by a large majority to support the new centre-left government. This same party will also soon cause the coalition to collapse, Delo predicts:
“The Left, which knows how much its votes count, is under major pressure because the answer to the question of whether Slovenia will get a centre-left government or not depends on it to a large degree. Even if the six parties manage to find a common denominator in the next few days, the real moment of truth will come in autumn when the trade unions remind them of their demands once more.”
No experience with consensus
Večer also has its doubts about whether a minority government can work in Slovenia:
“Slovenia is a deeply polarised society in which there is no tradition of consensus. Consequently, doubts about the effectiveness and duration of the minority government are fully justified. Marjan Šarec's political inexperience, conflicts between the coalition partners and the instability of The Left do not bode well for the government's stability. ... If the experiment were a success, however, it would be very significant for Slovenia's political future. Because new elections would not bring any significant changes and would no doubt result in another minority government.”