Slovenian Premier Loses Key Ally of Coalition, Faces Uncertainty

(Bloomberg) --

Slovenia’s prime minister suffered a blow -- one that could be fatal to his government -- after a party that had helped support his minority coalition withdrew its backing.

Marjan Sarec, a former comedian and mayor, stormed to power in elections a year ago by wrangling five parties into a coalition backed by a sixth -- the non-aligned Left party -- to prevent the euro-skeptic, anti-immigrant party that won the vote from leading the government.

The unwieldy group has since struggled to stick together, squabbling over issues including the budget. The Left announced late Wednesday it was pulling its support over the government’s refusal of its demand to abolish supplemental health insurance, which may make it impossible for Sarec to finish his four-year term.

“The breakup with the Left doesn’t bode well for this government, which will have difficulties surviving until the end of it’s mandate,” said Alem Maksuti, a political scientist from the Institute for Political Management.

Sarec’s coalition is now three seats short of a majority in the 90-member parliament, meaning he’ll have to seek outside support for individual legislation. Having squabbled with the Left for months, the premier courted support from the Slovenian National party to push through the 2020 budget.

Making Donuts

“It’s difficult to work in peace with daily unrest,” Sarec said two months ago, when tensions with the Left were coming to a head. “If you’ve ever made donuts, you know to keep your kitchen closed, warm. If someone walks in every five minutes, the donuts will fail. It’s about the same with these projects.”

Sarec said this week that he hopes to see through his mandate at the head of the Alpine nation of two million people. After shifting from an agenda that included raising minimum wage, he has found support from right-wing parties for policies such as building fences on its southern border and tax reform.

Keeping together the mix of coalition partners that cluster around the center of the political spectrum now, however, may be difficult, and finding future support for initiatives will remain his biggest challenge.

If the coalition is toppled in a no-confidence motion, the most likely option would be an early election. But nationalist former Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who came in first in last year’s ballot but failed to muster a support for government, may also try to regain power.

“The first real test won’t come next week, but probably next year, when slower growth will force the government to revise the budget and make some unpopular decisions,” said Maksuti.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jan Bratanic in Ljubljana at jbratanic@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey

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