Right-wing politician Jansa set to become Slovenia's new PM

A veteran right-wing politician has been nominated to become Slovenia’s new prime minister following the resignation last month of a liberal head of government. Slovenia’s president Borut Pahor on Wednesday formally appointed Janez Jansa as prime minister-designate after his Slovenian Democratic Party said it has formed a new four-party coalition, which will have a parliamentary majority.

The appointment follows the resignation in January of Marjan Sarec who stepped down as prime minister, saying his minority government was unable to do its job properly.

Sarec had called for early elections, but some of the parties that were part of his center-left coalition agreed to form a new government with Jansa.

The new coalition has the support of 48 lawmakers in the 90-member parliament. Jansa is expected to be confirmed in post next week.

Jansa’s SDS came top in Slovenia’s parliamentary election in 2018, but other groups in the parliament initially refused to co-operate with the party because of its staunchly anti-immigrant stands and right-wing positions.

Jansa is close to Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who publicly supported him during the election campaign in 2018.

Jansa, 61, who won prominence as a dissident in the former, Communist-run Yugoslav federation, has already served twice in the past as Slovenia’s prime minister.