Slovenians cast ballot for stability
Source: Agencies |
December 5, 2011, Monday
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SLOVENIANS voted in an early election yesterday expected to bring conservatives back to power, where they will have to tackle the country's mounting debt, unemployment and a looming recession.
The parliamentary vote is Slovenia's first snap election since becoming independent from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. It was called in September after the center-left government was toppled due to economic uncertainty and allegations of corruption.
President Danilo Turk said upon casting his ballot yesterday that "the most important task of the new government will be to restart economy."
The tiny Alpine nation has been hit hard by the European debt crisis. Slovenia's public debt has swollen to 44 percent of its gross domestic product and unemployment has risen to 12 percent.
Opinion polls have predicted that the Slovenian Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa will win the most support in the country of 2 million - around 30 percent of the votes. But he may have to seek support from smaller parties to form the majority in the 90-member parliament.
Jansa, who led Slovenia into the eurozone while in power in 2004-2008, has promised to introduce austerity measures, such as cutting government administration and reducing labor costs, while curbing corruption and accelerating privatization.
The outgoing center-left government of Prime Minister Borut Pahor has failed to push through pension and labor reform requested by the European Union. Pahor has said that he has done his best amid the global downturn.
Pahor is trailing third in the polls with 13 percent, while the Positive Slovenia led by Zoran Jankovic, a businessman and the ex-mayor of capital Ljubljana, is second, with 19 percent support.
The parliamentary vote is Slovenia's first snap election since becoming independent from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. It was called in September after the center-left government was toppled due to economic uncertainty and allegations of corruption.
President Danilo Turk said upon casting his ballot yesterday that "the most important task of the new government will be to restart economy."
The tiny Alpine nation has been hit hard by the European debt crisis. Slovenia's public debt has swollen to 44 percent of its gross domestic product and unemployment has risen to 12 percent.
Opinion polls have predicted that the Slovenian Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa will win the most support in the country of 2 million - around 30 percent of the votes. But he may have to seek support from smaller parties to form the majority in the 90-member parliament.
Jansa, who led Slovenia into the eurozone while in power in 2004-2008, has promised to introduce austerity measures, such as cutting government administration and reducing labor costs, while curbing corruption and accelerating privatization.
The outgoing center-left government of Prime Minister Borut Pahor has failed to push through pension and labor reform requested by the European Union. Pahor has said that he has done his best amid the global downturn.
Pahor is trailing third in the polls with 13 percent, while the Positive Slovenia led by Zoran Jankovic, a businessman and the ex-mayor of capital Ljubljana, is second, with 19 percent support.
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