August 17 (SeeNews) - Marjan Sarec, leader of Slovenia's LMS party, was appointed prime minister-designate on Friday, following a 55 to 31 vote in parliament, a live stream of the session showed.
Sarec will lead a minority coalition government, having garnered the support of five center-left parties.
LMS, which became the second-biggest force in parliament after the early general election in June, said on August 8 it submitted to the assembly a list of 43 signatures of MPs supporting Sarec for the position of prime minister-designate.
Sarec told MPs earlier on Friday that he is aware of his shortcomings and mistakes but has the courage to be Slovenia's next prime minister.
Along with the 43 MPs from LMS, the Social Democrats (SD), the Modern Center Party (SMC) of former prime minister Miro Cerar, the Alenka Bratusek Party (SAB) and the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia (DeSUS), Sarec has received the support of the 9 MPs from the Left party.
Sarec said on Friday that if he gets appointed as prime minister, his first and biggest challenge will be reforming the healthcare sector.
"Management is very important. Money can not help if the management of institutions is not optimal," he said
Another major challenge, he said, is to ensure national security. Sarec also pledged to work towards ensuring the sustainability of the pension system, and to invest in education and culture.
No politician in Slovenia's parliament held the majority support needed to be elected prime minister at the end of the 30-day period following June 3 snap vote, during which only president Borut Pahor could award a mandate for forming a government, the president said last month. After that, either the president or groups of MPs could nominate a candidate for prime minister.
The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) led by nationalist former prime minister Janez Jansa won June election with 24.92% of the vote, giving it 25 of 90 seats in the National Assembly. Prior to the elections all parties but NSi and SNS said they refused to work with SDS, effectively blocking Jansa from power.