Slovenia Is in Crisis With Fall of Government

Slovenia slid into political crisis Saturday as Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek’s government collapsed after failing to win approval for his new Cabinet.

Drnovsek was seeking parliament ratification for a Cabinet reshuffle after his junior coalition partner, the Slovenian People’s Party, pulled out of his government. The 90-seat legislature rejected the proposal by a 55-to-31 vote--a move that in effect ousted Drnovsek and left parliament with the task of finding a new prime minister within 30 days.

The Liberal Democratic premier’s fall means that governmental business in this tiny Alpine nation will be virtually stalled for the next month while a new leader is sought. If a successor isn’t chosen by May 7, new elections will be called.

The old coalition will remain in office with limited powers until a new government is elected.

Slovenia, a former Yugoslav republic of 2 million wedged between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, is a front-runner for accession into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. During a visit to Slovenia last year, President Clinton toasted the country as an example of what a democratic Balkan region could become: a model of success in building freedom and prosperity.