Winner of Slovenian Elections to Get First Go at Forming Cabinet
- Jansa may surrender mandate if rivals can create government
- Record nine parties in parliament risks political turmoil
Janez Jansa looks on during a meeting with the Slovenian President to discuss the formation of a coalition in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on June 7, 2018.
Photographer: JJure Makovec /AFP via Getty Images
Slovenia’s president will give Janez Jansa the first chance to form a government following inconclusive elections, although the nationalist former prime minister said he may surrender the mandate if his opponents assemble a workable coalition.
The victory of Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party in Sunday’s ballot creates a dilemma for the former Yugoslav republic after most other parties denounced his anti-immigrant campaign and rejected joining him in power. The standoff has set the stage for prolonged political turbulence like that seen in Slovenia’s fellow euro-area neighbor Italy. The ballot runner-up, former comedian Marjan Sarec, has said he wants to create a cabinet of his own.