President Pirc Musar halted the nomination process after fruitless talks. The move forces parties into a second negotiation round with higher stakes.
The President of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar, stated that she would not nominate a candidate for the position of prime minister after the first round of negotiations with political parties, as none of them could secure the necessary majority among MPs.
I do not want to nominate a candidate for the position of prime minister for a minority government.
– Natasa Pirc Musar
Prospects and Next Steps
She stressed that none of the potential candidates for prime minister has demonstrated that they have the support of a majority of 46 votes in the 90-seat parliament.
Although the outgoing prime minister, Robert Golob, received the most votes, last week he said that he was unable to assemble the required majority, potentially paving the way for the return to power of Slovenian nationalist leader Janez Janša.
In the second round of negotiations, which will begin after May 10 and last up to 14 days, parliamentary groups or a coalition of ten legislators will also be able to nominate a candidate for prime minister.
It was also reported that in Slovenia the leader of the pro-Russian anti-system party Resni.ca, Zoran Stevanović, was elected speaker of parliament.
In January, the President of Slovenia Natasa Pirc Musar signed a decree for parliamentary elections on March 22.
In the Slovenian parliamentary elections, neither of the two main competing political forces could secure an absolute majority of 46 out of 90 seats.
Now further negotiations between the parties on forming a new government and building a coalition are expected.
In the near term, the situation will remain dynamic, and the parties will prepare for new coalition agreements and strive to stabilize the government in the country.