Slovenian parliament approves new center-left government
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LJUBLJANA, June 1 (Reuters) – Slovenian MPs on Wednesday confirmed the new center-left government of Prime Minister Robert Golob, who is leading a new party to replace populist Prime Minister Janez Jansa, and promises to make people proud.
In the 90-member parliament, 53 deputies approved a government made up of ministers from the Golob Freedom Party, the Social Democrats and the Left, which formed a majority coalition after last month’s state election in which the Free Movement defeated Jansa’s SDS. Twenty-eight Members voted against.
Golob, a former director of the state-owned energy company, said his 17-ministerial government will include experienced politicians and experts, seven of whom will be women, the most in the government so far.
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“We do not want a government that needs 100 days of peace because we know we will not have it,” Golob told parliament, referring to the increasingly tense situation in the world.
He said the new government’s priorities will include improving health and social systems, depoliticizing the police, focusing on green energy and increasing media freedoms.
The government includes former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, who will now serve as defense minister, and EU MP Tanja Fajon, who has been confirmed as foreign minister.
Fajonova said she would rather see Slovenia move closer to “nuclear EU countries” such as Germany, France and Italy than the Visegrad Group countries, the alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia given to it by the former prime minister. Janša.
The new government will hold its first session later on Wednesday after the official handover ceremony to Golob od Janša.
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Reporters Antonio Bronic from Ljubljana and Daria Sito-Sučić from Sarajevo; Editing: Grant McCool
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